Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus
by ArchiezCullen
Summary: Dr.Edward Cullen is the head of clinical trials at Cullen Corp and is engaged to hot model Bella Swan from childhood. Sparks of hatred fly when the two meet as strangers. Where is the line between hatred n love? BxE, JxA, EmxR. AU/AH
1. Chapter 1: The pact

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**Chapter**** 1: 1987, The pact**

**Background: Author's POV**

Born in a rich family, Dr. Carlisle Cullen has taken over his family business as the head of Cullen Corp, a multinational, drug target Research Company. He was a happy man. The business was doing well and they had just hit a major target molecule for cancer, which would block angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels to tumors, with out which the tumor cells would eventually die!) and was extremely excited, both as a medical professional and a businessman, as he entered the conference room. He laughed to himself at the thought of sitting in a conference room to beat out the details of the contract when it was just a meeting between two people, two friends!

His childhood friend Charlie Swan was now the president of his father's company SeizeIt Pharma which manufactured most of the drug targets developed by his company in a suitable dosage form. Once the drug candidate passed the phase 3 of the clinical trials, the pharma company took over and together they had made millions of dollars of profit over the past many years. Charlie's father and Carlisle's father had become business partners first and then good friends. Soon the families became friends and he had grown up next door to Charlie and hence ended up being best friends. Carlisle was married to Esme through an arranged marriage and now had 3 children, all boys. His eldest son Emmett was not 7 years old, the next one Jasper was 5 and the youngest one was 3 years old. Carlisle had always wanted a daughter but was quite happy with his wife and children and loved them dearly.

Charlie had married his high-school girlfriend Renee and now had a one year old daughter. Renee had died giving birth to the baby girl and Carlisle knew for a fact that Charlie was having a tough time bringing up his daughter, while trying to recover from the death of his lovely wife. The two families met quite frequently and Charlie left his dear daughter Bella with Esme whenever he had to go conferences. Esme and Carlisle loved Bella like their own daughter.

Charlie and Carlisle were meeting to discuss the scope and future plans about their new gold mine, the drug against cancer! Even though they were great friends, Carlisle wanted to nailed down the deal and make a pact that would bond them forever, in order to make sure that the selfish nature of people does not come into this deal at some point of time in the future. He had a proposal to make. Once Charlie arrived they discuss the project and how they would split the profit. In most cases, the profit was usually unequally divided, considering which company had to invest more money and time in the drug development process. But this was not just any drug but a gold mine for both of us. So it would be a 50:50 share.

_**Carlisle POV**_

He agreed and from his manner I realized that he was thinking the same thing that I was. We wanted to make a pact. Reading from his face, I was quite confident that he would agree to my proposition. "Charlie, I have a proposition to make. Esme and I love Bella like our own daughter and would love to have her as a real family. I request Bella's hand in marriage for my son Edward. You do not have to agree to this proposition for the sake of our business, that will remain unaffected but I could not just pass up on this thought. And you do not have to tell me your decision now. I have not asked Esme about this, but I am sure she will be more than happy to make Bella our daughter."

Charlie's face showed multiple emotions. First there was shock and confusion and then there was just clear happiness. "Carlisle, you have made my day. Not because of this new drug project deal but with your proposition. I could not think of a better match for my daughter. I think we should go ahead and announce the betrothal. I would suggest that we let them be friends till they are old enough and then inform them of their engagement. Also, we could have their wedding once Bella finishes her bachelor's degree at the age of 21-22. What do you think", he asked me excitement and happiness dripping in every word he said. I smiled and we gave each other a manly parting hug before he left. I was extremely happy for finding such a beautiful girl for my son and could not wait to get home, to share that with Esme.

Edward and Bella were meant to be...


	2. Chapter 2: Separation

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**Chapter 2: 9 years later, Separation**

_**Charlie POV**_

Its been 10 long years since Renee left me. I have been coping with the way life has been and I loved my daughter Bella with all my heart. She was my only family for saying out loud. My parents were no more and neither were Renee's. The loss of her grandmother, Renee's mother, had left Bella a little depressed. She used to spend so much time with her grandmother since they were just next door to us.

Even though Esme told me that she would gladly take care of Bella along with her sons, since she was already a part of the family, I could not agree to that. Carlisle and I spoke to Edward and Bella and told them about their future, together. Neither of them reacted badly, which was good, but I wonder if they understood the full meaning of what all this meant! They appeared to be indifferent to each other even after we had told them. I did not know if I should be happy or worried about this. So I decided to just let it be. I decided that a high class boarding school would be the best place for Bella. It will give her the opportunity to meet people, make friends and not miss her mother or grandmother. I had got her admission to the best all girls boarding school in Dover, UK. **(A/N: This is just an imaginary school!)**

She was supposed to leave early tomorrow morning. I had a business meeting in London in a couple of days and I planned to get her settled in her school before that. We had just come back from the Cullen's place after dinner. Bella had cried because she had to leave behind her only friends. Emmett immediately lifted her off the ground and hugged her fiercely and cracked some stupid joke to console her. She looked up to him like her big brother and he was extremely protective about Bella. They even had pet names for each other. She called him her teddy bear and he called her the squirt. Jasper was not as outgoing as his elder brother but I knew for a fact that he loved Bella like his own sister and spent his time trying to explain the world around us in simple terms that she would understand. I had been at a loss of words when Edward just came up to her, wrapped his arms around her, gave her a peck on the cheek and told her that he would always be there for her, no matter how far apart they are and she calmed down quickly and smiled at him shyly. I could not wait for my daughter to grow up!

Her nanny was now helping her pack her stuff and I decided to pack mine. I was definitely going to miss my daughter.

The flight was uneventful but I could see that even though she was a little upset about leaving her friends and family behind, she was bubbly because of the fact that she was going to a new place, to make new friends. I signed her admission papers and got her settled in her dorm room, which she will be sharing with another girl of her age. I gave her a warm hug and my eyes clouded over with tears. I tried to blink them away and I put her back on her feet. "Bella, be good and take care of yourself. I will make sure that we are together for all of your holidays. I love you and will miss you terribly!"

Silent tears rolled down her cheeks as she nodded her head and said "I love you too, Papa!"

I took one final look at the meaning behind my life and left before I went back on my decision of leaving her in this school.

_**BPOV**_

After my dad left me, I put my clothes in the shelves and decided to read something since I did not have anyone to talk to. I missed Em, Jazzy and Eddie (even though he hated this pet name, I was the only one who was allowed to call him that!) so much. Papa told me that Eddie will always be with me. But now I was all alone. I was halfway through the first chapter of Alice in wonderland when a tiny girl walked into my room with her parents. They introduced themselves as Mrs. and Mr. Brandon and told me they were happy to meet their daughter's room mate. I went back to my book after shaking hands with them and acknowledging my roomie.

She kept a smiling face as she bade them good-bye. I was amazed by this tiny girl who was going to share the room with me. I could immediately guess that we were the opposite poles of the world!

She turned her pixie-like face to me, held out her hand and said " I am afraid I did not introduce myself properly. I am Mary Alice Brandon…"


	3. Author Note: Important

You might have seen my other fanfic,' I have waited a century for you

You might have seen my other fanfic,' I have waited a century for you!', which was the first one that I started writing until I came up with this plot for this AH fanfic while I was driving to work today. I have finished writing a few chapters in both, but I am confused as to which story I should spend more time on. So I need you guys to tell me your preference!


	4. Chapter 3: Growing up

**Chapter 3: Growing up…**

_**BPOV**_

She turned her pixie-like face to me, held out her hand and said " I am afraid I did not introduce myself properly. I am Mary Alice Brandon.I prefer being called Alice though! And you must be Isabella Swan. The admin guys told me that my roomie was from the States as well. I was so thrilled. Yay…I can't wait to go around the campus. I wonder if we have any shops near-by…you know for clothes and stuff".

She spoke all of that in one single stretch that I felt I had trouble breathing just in my attempt to catch every word that was being said. Whoa…she was one hyper-girl. "Yes, I am Isabella Swan. You can call me Bella. I am from New York. Where are you from?"

"I am from Chicago. I can't believe my parents actually agreed to let me go to this school. I have always wanted to be in a boarding school, you know, independent and stuff! And I can see that we are going to be quick friends Bella. I already like you. Will you be my maid of honor at my wedding? And I can be yours if you would like."

"W-What? Are you getting married soon Alice?" I stuttered. I had been of the opinion that such a system had been in practice in the past century but not in recent times.

"Silly Bella…I am talking about when we grow up. Oh…and I should tell you about my dream guy, the prince charming whom I would like to marry!"

**8 years later…**

With Alice, 24hours was never enough. She was so full of energy and she never failed to amuse me. I had never been back home after coming here. I spent a couple of the breaks vacationing with Alice's parents, who were like my second-parents and the other times, Charlie visited me in Dover and took me to some exotic place on vacation. Over the course of the years, I had slowly lost touch with the Cullens, even though I was quite well informed about their where abouts from Charlie. For some reason, he felt the necessity to constantly remind me about my betrothal to Edward.

I had changed _a lot_ in the past 6 years. I was no longer the shy girl who wanted to hide her face in the book. I was confident, cool, level-headed and most of all I knew I looked beautiful and could make a guy go down on his knees begging for mercy. Alice had rubbed off on me quite a bit. I am now applying to universities in Paris to graduate in Fashion Design. Alice wanted to graduate in photography and studio design. As we moved to the end of our high school days, I felt myself feeling a little depressed at the thought of having to move away from Alice. She was my lifeline in so many ways. She was going back to the States, to NYU for her degree. She said that she wanted to be in the "happening" place to get first hand experience of what she wanted to become – A fashion photographer in a lead advertisement company.

**Fall that year…**

It was time for good-byes once again and this time was more painful than the last time I had had to say goodbye to my friends. Alice and I promised each other that we would call each other every weekend and that we would meet up during the vacations.

We gave each other a long hug, tears streaming down both our cheeks and vowed to keep our friendship alive…

I took my flight to Paris and reached the hotel quickly. My dad had put his foot down and told me that I could not stay over with some seniors at the university who might be ready to host me. I checked into Ritz and decided to get some dinner and go to bed early so that I can start my apartment hunt tomorrow.

Its been 4 hours since I started on my apartment search with the real estate guy and I still had not found one that I could imagine calling "home". I told him that I wanted to quit after seeing just one more house and start again tomorrow. I was not optimistic when I promised me that I would love the next option. But I must say that I was awestruck at the beauty and openness of this house. It was a fully furnished house with a large spacious living room, a dining room attached to the kitchen through a narrow passage and three amazingly romantic bedrooms. I loved this place! The rent was quite high, considering it was in the city and quite close to the university. Not that I cared about how much I had to pay. It was just equivalent to the amount I spent per week on buying clothes, not including the accessories! I told the agent to get back to me with the contract for the house! I wanted to move in as soon as I could before the classed started next week.

I spent the rest of the going around the city. Its not like this was my first time in Paris. I had been here on numerous occasions with Alice during my stay at Dover. But who wouldn't wanna shop in this place!

The week flew by in a haze and I had settled down comfortably in my new apartment. I also got a new car, a silver Porsche Boxster S.

My classes were set to start from tomorrow. I decided to choose my outfit for my first day at the university. I chose a simple tiger stripped knee-length skirt and a plain coffee-brown peasant top to go with it. But I had trouble choosing my shoes. I imaged what Alice would choose and picked a pair of brown pumps with about 2.5 inches of heals. It was my average preference for the size of heals I wore. Neither too high not too flat!

I then called Alice and we caught up with the week's happenings. I took a hot shower and went to bed quickly, not bothering with putting on anything since I preferred sleeping naked, it gave me a sense of freedom and openness that I enjoyed...


	5. Chapter4: WhoaBabe!

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**Chapter 4: Whoa…Babe!**

_**BPOV**_

I woke up to the blaring sound of my alarm clock and finished up my morning routine quickly and started dressing up. I put on some pale brown eye shadow and some mascara that gave my eyes a smoky look. I chose a pale beigish-pink lip gloss to go with the dress and I put on a mild blush, though I did not usually need it! My father always joked that I had got the "blush-gene" from my mother, as he called it. I styled my hair in such a way that it looked slightly flicked and made it look voluminous. A quick check in the full length mirror told me that I looked quite good and decent.

After grabbing a quick cup of coffee and breakfast in a near-by café, I drove to my department in the university, parked my car and after giving myself a short prep talk that I could do well in university as well, I entered the building. What I was not prepared for was the stares that I got from the male population in the corridors. Having been schooled in an all-girls boarding school, my interaction with the opposite sex had been at a minimum, if not non-existent. With a sudden burst of confidence I strutted down the corridor, getting a couple of low whistles and cat calls.

I made some good friends, male and female ones. I actually found some of them to be really nice people – I could see myself becoming fast friends with Angela, Mike, Ben and Eric. In fact I agreed to go out with them to a new night club on Friday night. The classes were amazing and I found myself engrossed in the lectures. We already had some assignments to submit in a fortnight but I was looking forward to sketching my designs, putting my talent on paper. Life was definitely going to be fast paced here.

--

Soon I got into the routine of waking up at 6 in the morning, going to classes, coming back and finishing up assignments. I fell into the habit of picking out my clothes for the next day before I went to bed. Alice and I were making good on our promise and she was coming to visit me during her spring break. The distance did not seem to affect our friendship in any way. She told me recently that she had met an amazing law college graduate, by the name of Jasper, who also had an MBA degree, at a night club and was currently dating that guy and from the way she kept babbling about this guy, I could sense that she was falling for him. I could envision the dreamy look that she would have on her face, every time she saw him. As far as my social life goes, I went out on a date now and then with some guys but I rarely let it proceed beyond a chaste kiss on the lips, because I knew that I could not allow myself to fall for any guy, in order to keep my father's promise to his friend. I had not seen any of the Cullens after leaving the States, even though Esme called me quite frequently to see how I was doing. I got to know that Emmett had finished his MBA in finances and was now engaged to someone by name Rosalie, who was his batch mate at the university. She was now working in the Cullen Corp as the marketing and advertisement head. Emmett was VP finances in the Cullen corp. Jazzy was going to finish his degree in law and Edward was in his final year at Harvard medical school. He had started school very early and was probably the youngest guy to graduate with a medical degree from Harvard!

**4 years later…**

I was in the final year of my course and I was quite eager to graduate and open a boutique in NYC. Today was the last weekend before the start of the final exams and so all of us, the usual gang of friends decided to go to dinner and then to the new fancy night club in Champs Elysees. I finished styling my hair and put on the new gradient teal colored dress that I had bought recently. After putting on my make up and grabbing my favorite drawstring bag, I ran out of the house to get to dinner on time.

Dinner was amazing and we spent the time talking about how our lives had changed in the past 4 years of university life. We then headed out to the club and luckily all of us had someone to pair-up with for dancing. I loved dancing and had taken some tango and salsa classes during my stay in Paris.

After about dancing for an hour I felt a little thirsty and wanted to get a drink. One thing about living in Paris and going out frequently with friends is that you develop a great resistance to alcohol. I was just getting my blueberry flavored vodka, when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around to see a talk handsome guy, probably in his early twenties, smiling at me. He had a thick mane of long black hair pulled into a ponytail and a well-tanned skin. "Hi, I am Jacob, Jacob Black and I work for a modeling agency. I noticed you dancing with that guy and felt that you would make a great model for one of our customers. Would you like to try? I promise that you will get paid very well."

After gawking at him for a couple of minutes, I gathered my thoughts to reply to his offer. "Well, nice to meet you Mr. Black. I am Bella. I think its no harm in trying a couple of photo shoots. So, who is this customer company that you are representing?"

"Oh great! Its DKNY. So, if you like we could schedule for a photo shoot in 2 weeks from today. Will that be okay with you?"

I could not believe my luck. Here I was, at a night club dancing away and freaking out before the start of the finals and this guy comes up to me with an offer to model for DKNY! I must be dreaming! "W-o-w! Yup…2 weeks from now sounds good. I will be done with my finals by then and I could stay for a while before returning home."

He then gave me his card and left me staring after him.

--

It was finally over. I had finished my university! I was quite sure that I passed all my courses. I had about two days to crash and recover from the stress of the finals before I went for my photo shoot on Friday morning. Jake had called a couple of days back asking me to come to his office at 10 in the morning. Charlie had freaked out a bit when I told him that I was going to try my hand at modeling but Esme had convinced him that I could make my own decisions and she and Carlisle were okay with whatever made me happy. Yes, Charlie thought that I needed to have the 'permission' of my soon to be parents-in-law before I ventured into something like modeling! He told me that he wanted to arrange for the wedding at the earliest, since Edward had now finished his resident practice at the hospital and was joining Cullen Corp as the head of clinical trials while he worked part-time in the hospital. He had specialized in peri-natal surgery.

I was just lounging on my couch flicking through the channels for something to watch when my phone rang. It was from my personal little pixie. "Hello Alice, wassup?"

I had hardly finished greeting her when I heard a shrill squeal form the other end. "Bella, you wouldn't believe what happened today. Jasper proposed to me in the most romantic way and I was so surprised. I was expecting him to propose soon but I didn't know that he would do it so soon." She then started describing their dinner and dance and how he had gone down on his knees and said the perfect words to win heart all over again, how beautiful the ring was…

But what shocked me was when she said that the wedding was in two months. "Bella, I don't know how you are going to manage it, photo shoot or not, I do not care. I want you here with in a month to help me with the wedding arrangements. You are my maid of honor and you have your responsibilities too! Oh…I can't wait to get married Bella…"

I had no choice but to agree. The pixie always got things going her way. I did not stand a chance trying to argue with her! I decided to call me travel agent and ask them to arrange for my tickets to fly home next month. With that arranged I called the real estate guy and told him that I will be vacating next month and that I will be leaving all the furniture behind and who ever moved in next could take it for free.

Exhausted, I dragged myself to my room, showered and went to bed. My head hit the pillow and that's the last thing I remember.

I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I had not set a wake-up alarm since I had decided to stay in bed till late. I looked to the digital clock on the bed-side table and it read 8:00 AM. I did not recognize the number and my voice was thick with sleep as I answered "Hello??"

A beautiful velvet-ish male voice from the end answered after a minute of hesitation. "I am sorry. Did I wake you up?"


	6. Chapter 5: Catching up

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**Chapter 5: Catching up…**

_**EPOV**_

Years flew by in a haze as I grew up with my brothers. Emmett was the burly but jovial one while Jasper was the cool, level-headed strategic thinker. I…well, I turned out to be a combination of both. Being the youngest in the family had its advantages _and _disadvantages. I could get away with anything I did and wanted to have, but I also had to live up to the expectations of everyone in the family. I had learnt to play the piano from when I was 10 years old and had taken formal ball room dancing classes to please Esme. Carlisle had been extremely upset when neither of my brothers wanted to go to medical school. I had always looked up to Carlisle for the passion he had for his work. Even today he worked half-days at the children's hospital downtown and handled the company affairs as well. So I had decided to follow his footsteps and become the doctor in the family. After graduating from Harvard with specialization in peri-natal surgery, I then finished my resident training in my father's hospital. Shortly after my term as a resident, Carlisle had asked me if I wanted to take over the responsibility of being the head of clinical research at our company while working part-time in the hospital. He told me that I had tremendous skill and talent when I worked with my patients, new born babies actually, and told me that I should continue to work in the hospital as well. I gladly took up his offer and was enjoying my work.

My social life has been quite interesting to say the least. With Emmett and Jasper as my brothers I grew up learning the art of being a playboy. I never dated the same girl twice and made sure that I did not cross a certain line of physical relationship. It never got to any point beyond kissing…and I knew how girls went panting after me. I was the untouchable guy. I would have had my way with some of the girls had it not been for my betrothal to Charlie's daughter Bella. We had been good friends in childhood but she had moved to Dover, UK when I was 13 years old and we had never seen or heard from each other after that. Esme, of course, had taken it upon herself to keep us connected and constantly reminded me of Bella. I got to know that she was graduating with a major in fashion design from the University of Paris and will be returning to NYC pretty soon. Esme wanted to us to tie the knot as soon as possible. With Jasper getting married to his girlfriend Alice in about 2 months, I was the loner in the family. Emmett had married his college sweetheart Rose 2 years back and they had had their baby 8 months ago. I loved my niece, Deonna, to say the least and I would do anything to spoil her. I was her favorite uncle and babysitter, whenever Emmett and Rosalie wanted to go out together. She was amazingly adorable and cute. Rose and Alice were both amazing women and were good friends of mine. Alice often took it on herself to dress me up for the family parties and dances. And as Esme put it, there was just one missing piece in the beautiful puzzle…Bella.

Esme had been coaxing me to call Bella for quite sometime now and has been hinting at scheduling the wedding soon after Jasper's. As I lay in my bed thinking about things, a sudden thought struck me. I looked at the clock on the table; it was 11PM and so I guessed it must be sometime around 7-8AM in Paris. Will she be awake by now? The thought of talking to my fiancé was too exciting to pass up.

I grabbed my cell phone and dialed her number trying to reign in my nervousness as I heard her phone ring. After 4 rings a soft beautiful voice, answered in a sleepy tone and I hesitated wondering if she would be annoyed with me for disturbing her sleep and then replied,

"I am sorry. Did I wake you up?"

"Which idiot calls at 8AM to check if someone is asleep or awake?" she snapped.

Great! I finally call my would-be after 11 long years and at a perfectly wrong time!

"Bella, I did not realize that you would be asleep. I thought you will be off to your university. And oh…sorry I did not introduce myself. This is Edward…" I trailed off tentatively, hoping she would recognize the name.

"Edward…as in _Edward Cullen?_"

"Hmm…that would be me I guess." I replied sheepishly.

I heard a soft intake of breath and she fumbled for her words…" Oh…er…um…s-sorry Edward. I did not know it was you. I am not usually this rude in the mornings. I decided to stay in bed for longer than usual since I finished my finals on the day before yesterday. It has been quite stressful for the past one week and I need to wake up early tomorrow as well."

"No…no. Don't worry, I did not know that you had finished your finals. Do you want me to call back later?"

"Do you think I will be able to get back to sleep now that I know it is you who is calling?" she flirted, with just a hint of a smile.

I chuckled and could not help but flirt back, after all she was _my_ future _wife_. "You have a beautiful voice, Bella. I wouldn't be able to end this call even if you wanted to. So…er..when are you coming back?" God… did I actually ask her that. She must think I was some desperate idiot. "Umm…what I meant was, what are your plans, now that you have graduated?"

She laughed a musical laugh. What would I not give to hear that again! "Thanks. I will be home with in a month. I promised my friend I would be her maid of honor and she is getting married in about 2months. But before that I am going to try my hand at modeling. I got an offer to shoot for DKNY and have the photo session tomorrow actually. If that goes fine, I hope to get some more offers. Uh…you are okay with that right? I spoke to Esme about it. Didn't she tell you?"

"Nope and don't worry, I don't mind being the husband of a super model. And congrats…DKNY as the first offer sounds amazing. A beautiful girl with a beautiful voice…hmm...its so long since I have seen you that I can't even imagine how you look like now!"

"Thanks again. You seem to be quite good at flirting even on the phone. Been in the field for quite a while I guess?"

"Nah… there has never been a single day when Esme doesn't talk about you or our engagement. Oh yeah…speaking of which, Jazzy got engaged recently. The wedding is in 2 months. You should be here by then."

"Sure. Are you his best man or did Emmett grab the chance? And I believe I heard Charlie tell me you are now with your father's company. You should be at NYC then"

"Emmett will be his best man. I got my turn in Emmett's wedding. I guess you will get along well with both Emmett's wife and Jazper's fiancé, at least you are also a fashion freak like them… I am working part-time at our hospital and the rest of the time at the company. Carlisle wanted me to take over responsibility for the clinical trials. I started there just a few months back." I stifled a yawn and looked at the clock. Man…I had been on the phone for an hour already. It was so easy talking to her. But I knew I had to end the call soon because I will have to wake up by 6AM to get to the hospital in time for the surgery at 7.30AM.

"Some one is sleepy…" she said in a sing-song voice.

"Not really but I just remembered that I need to get to the hospital by 7AM tomorrow. There is a surgery at 7.30."

"Get some sleep then. We can talk anytime."

"Hmmm…"

"Good night Edward and good luck for the surgery. Call me anytime."

My heart did a tiny flip as I heard her offer. "Bye Bella. Take care. _Be Safe_."

I can't wait to see her. I should find out when Esme wants to have the wedding. The idea of getting married to Bella sent shivers of anticipation down my spine and I felt myself being aroused. God…this woman could work magic with just her voice…I tried to envisage what her hands and mouth could do then… I groaned and turned to lay on my stomach to manage my arousal and tried to get some sleep. I was thinking about our childhood days when sleep finally took over.


	7. Chapter 6: Alaina

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**I have links to all the dresses and accessories for all the chapters on my profile.**

**Chapter 6: Alaina…**

_**BPOV**_

I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I had not set a wake-up alarm since I had decided to stay in bed till late. I looked to the digital clock on the bed-side table and it read 8:00 AM. I did not recognize the number and my voice was thick with sleep as I answered "Hello??"

A beautiful velvet-ish male voice from the end answered after a minute of hesitation. "I am sorry. Did I wake you up?"

Was this guy joking? Asking me if he woke me up? Looks like good voices and good brains don't go together!

"Which idiot calls at 8AM to check if someone is asleep or awake?" I snapped before I could reign in my frustration.

Another pause and then…"Bella, I did not realize that you would be asleep. I thought you will be off to your university. And oh…sorry I did not introduce myself. This is Edward…" He trailed off suggestively, probably kicking himself for trying to talk to me. This was the first call I had received from my _fiancé _in nearly 11 years and I had screwed it up royally! I only had a vague memory of his voice and features. Putting aside my thoughts I replied before he could hang-up on me.

"Edward…as in _Edward Cullen?_"

"Hmm…that would be me I guess." _I had definitely scared this guy off! _

Trying to rectify my behavior, I felt myself at a loss of words" Oh…er…um…s-sorry Edward. I did not know it was you. I am not usually this rude in the mornings. I decided to stay in bed for longer than usual since I finished my finals on the day before yesterday. It has been quite stressful for the past one week and I need to wake up early tomorrow as well."

"No…no. Don't worry, I did not know that you had finished your finals. Do you want me to call back later?" _So, he was still the gentleman!_

I could not help but smile and flirt with _my husband to-be. _"Do you think I will be able to get back to sleep now that I know it is you who is calling?"

He chuckled, the most beautiful sound I had ever heard, except his voice, of course "You have a beautiful voice, Bella. I wouldn't be able to end this call even if you wanted to. So…er..when are you coming back?"

If I was not blushing before, I was sure I was a shade darker than ripe tomatoes by now. Was he actually hinting at our marriage?

"Umm..what I meant was, what are your plans, now that you have graduated?" he corrected himself because of what I could only presume as embarrassment.

I could not help but laugh at his reaction. "Thanks. I will be home with in a month. I promised my friend I would be her maid of honor and she is getting married in about 2months. But before that I am going to try my hand at modeling. I got an offer to shoot for DKNY and have the photo session tomorrow actually. If that goes fine, I hope to get some more offers. Uh…you are okay with that right? I spoke to Esme about it. Didn't she tell you?" _Did that just sound like asking for permission? This was definitely not good. I better not let him think I was letting him take control over my life. _Cursing myself, I waited for him to reply.

"Nope and don't worry, I don't mind being the husband of a super model. And congrats…DKNY as the first offer sounds amazing. A beautiful girl with a beautiful voice…hmm...its so long since I have seen you that I can't even imagine how you would look like now!" _More flirting. And he was good at it. And I liked the way he claimed me as his._

"Thanks again. You seem to be quite good at flirting even on the phone. Been in the field for quite a while I guess?" Even as I spoke those words, I could not help but feel a wave of insecurity and jealousy wash over me. I had kept my celibacy for him but that does not mean that he too would have thought about me.

"Nah… there has never been a single day when Esme doesn't talk about you or our engagement. Oh yeah…speaking of which. Jazzy got engaged recently. The wedding is in 2 months. You should be here by then."

_I just hope it does not clash with Alice's wedding. _I took this chance to distract my not so healthy worries. "Sure. Are you his best man or did Emmett grab the chance? And I believe I heard Charlie tell me you are now with your father's company. You should be at NYC then"

"Emmett will be his best man. I got my turn in Emmett's wedding. I guess you will get along well with both Emmett's wife and Jazper's fiancé, at least you are also into fashion like them… I am working part-time at our hospital and the rest of the time at the company. Carlisle wanted me to take over responsibility for the clinical trials. I started there just a few months back." I heard him try to hide the yawn and I back-calculated the time at NYC now…must be at around midnight.

"Some one is sleepy…" I said, trying to sound as casual as I could, with out letting him realize how much I enjoyed talking to him.

"Not really but I just remembered that I need to get to the hospital by 7AM tomorrow. There is a surgery at 7.30."

"Get some sleep then. We can talk anytime." I could not help but pass on the hint that I wanted to talk to him.

"Hmmm…"

"Good night Edward and good luck for the surgery. Call me anytime."

"Bye Bella. Take care. Be safe." Wow…this guy really worked magic with women. I felt my core give me a small reminder about the marital bliss that I could enjoy with Edward. I tried to get back to sleep but in vain. So I ended up doing what Alice would have wanted me to do. I went shopping for something to wear for the photo shoot tomorrow. After going to a couple of stores, I found a pretty, sleeveless sundress with a white base and floral patterns on it. It fit perfectly. I then found matching shoes and accessories for the dress. I spent the rest of the day in the parlor getting a whole body bikini-waxing, facial, pedicure and manicure done. It was twilight by the time I came home. I had managed to get some take outs for dinner. I watched some crappy soap on TV while I ate and went to bed early. After all, tomorrow was my big day!

--

I woke up even before my alarm went off but waited for the alarm to ring before getting out of the warmth of the bed and starting my routine. Waking up had been really amazing yesterday and I knew the reason…_Edward had called me_. I promised myself that I would call him tonight before going to bed and share the events of the day. After all, he had sounded quite enthusiastic about the whole modeling thing.

I took a long shower, relaxing my muscles in the warm water. I spent more time on getting dressed. I decided to go with some pale make-up to match the dress. I chose a pale baby-pink shiny eye shadow and brown mascara. I used the lip gloss that was the same shade as my eye shadow and put on some mild blush to highlight my high cheek bones. I curled my hair and set the fringe slightly to the left. I put on my shoes and checked if I had everything in my handbag before I went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. I was in no mood to cook, even though I enjoyed cooking. I had some cereals and milk. After a quick check in the mirror, I locked the house and went to my car.

--

The photo shoot went off really well. I was excited at the prospect of posing with clothes that were the future-fashion trend setters! Jake was an awesome guy and told me that I was a natural. He had even managed to get the executive from DKNY to be present for the photo shoot so that we could get his clearance right away.

The one thing that I did not expect however was when Jake told me that I could choose a new name since most women did not want their actual identities revealed to the public. (**A/N: This is my own thought. I do not know if it is actually this way!)** I was wracking my brain for some nice name when Jake suggested _Alaina_.

"Alaina means attractive and it suits you really well. You do not need any surname to go with it. Most people do not have surnames in this field." Jake gave me a wink and a smile.

We had become good friends over the day and he told me that he would suggest me to his other clients, since I was a "new-face" in the field and most clients liked that. I thought about the name and I realized that I really liked it.

"Alaina…sounds great Jake. I'll go with it". I signed the contract for 6 months with DKNY and told them that I will be moving to the NYC and would prefer to shoot there if it would be okay with them.

"No probs Bells, we have a branch of our agency in NYC. In fact I am there most of the time and I can arrange for your shoots there! You never told me you were moving…" Jake looked a little hurt actually but got back to his cheery self once again.

"Jake… my father is in New York and so is my fiancé. I just cannot expect everyone to move to Paris, can I?" I decided that it was the right time to let them know about the fact that I was engaged, since Jake had been hinting at going out quite a number of times during the day. I wanted to keep the relationship with Jake at a professional level or just as "hi-bye" friends.

Once the formalities with the DKNY executive and the agency were done, I got my first paycheck. I had not even asked Jake about the pay because money was next to nothing in my family and I agreed to model because of my passion for it…more like a hobby and not as a profession.

My eyes popped out when I read the number…


	8. Chapter 7: A month long wait

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

** I have links to all the dresses and accessories for all the chapters on my profile.**

**Chapter 7: A month long wait…**

_**BPOV**_

In that instant when I saw the paycheck I nearly fainted. Euro twenty grand for just one shoot! Wow…did I not love my job!

I did some extra photo shoots for the agency so that they can show my pictures to their clients and soon I got regular offers from some of the big names in the fashion world. Being the brand ambassador for Dior and DKNY, I now got free samples of all kinds from them, to wear for their publicity campaigns.

Edward and I had become a lot more intimate in our conversations and we now freely spoke about having a family and he was quite enthusiastic about deciding on places where we could go on our honeymoon. I had been around Europe quite a lot over the past many years, ever since I moved to UK. Edward wanted to go to some place outside the States and gave me hints that he had always wanted to visit Europe.

Our wedding date was now set for the 13th of August, 3 days after Alice's wedding. She told me that she was planning to go on her honeymoon 10days after her wedding since her fiancé could not leave before that due to some business requirements..

Edward had told me that there was a new drug approval that they were awaiting and they should have it about a week after our wedding. We would have to be there for the party that Carlisle would be hosting along with my father for the new drug approval. He left the planning of the honeymoon to me and had told me that he would be able to take about a month to 45days off from work. So I decided that we could make a tour in Europe. I thought of going to the Bavarian Alps…I had been to Chamonix-Mont Blanc, the highest peak of the Alps in France but had never been to the more beautiful and scenic Zugspitze in Germany. A couple of my friends had suggested Sassnitz, the white chalk cliffs on the Baltic sea coast. Having stayed at Dover, I had seen the white cliffs before, but seeing it with Edward would be a brand new experience. We could then go on a cruise to Iceland and spend a couple of weeks there, enjoying nature. I had given my preferences to a travel agent here and was hoping to get the confirmation of our itenary soon. I would keep it as a surprise for Edward.

Edward had been amazingly supportive about my career. I had suggested that I could open a boutique in NYC, with Esme's help and do part time modeling. His only request had been that I not model for any lingerie or sex toys or 'pills'. When I had asked him why, he told me that he did not want the world to see the beauty that was meant only for his eyes. _"You can model with those for ME anytime and I could help you even shop for those…"_ he had told me over the phone, causing me to blush furiously. I was so glad that he could not see my face at that moment.

We had decided not to agree to see any recent photographs of each other so that we would have a pleasant surprise on our first date! His life had gotten quite busy in the past month in the run-up to the drug approval, being the head of clinical trials. His life as a surgeon had also become more demanding, since he was now one of the leading peri-natal surgeons in NYC. However, he had promised to take me out, once I reach home.

The last few days of my stay in Paris passed in a blur. I had to finish my packing, banking transactions, vacate the house and say good-byes to those I knew. Jake gave me the contact of the person who will be in touch with me from their NYC office. We had become good friends over the past one month. I had invited him for the wedding and he told me that he would try his best to make it there.

I had half a day to get over the jet lag and settled down before I had to go out shopping with Alice. She told me that she had made some tentative selection of stuff which would make it easier for us to finalize things faster. Alice, being Alice had squealed and screamed her head off when I had told her about my wedding date and she told me that it would make simplify things to shop for our requirements once for both of us rather than twice in quick succession.

Alice came up to my house, bright and early to pick me up for our shopping trip. That afternoon at 4PM I had promised to meet with the agent whom Jake had put me in touch with to go over the offers that I had and plan out the photo shoots. I decided to go with mild make-up and wore a deep V-neck short pale blue dress, with white creeper patterns. It came to about 3 inches above my knee and it fit all my curves perfectly. Alice was in a grey pointelle dress that hugged her petite frame. She looked as hyper as ever and soon we were trying out brides and bridesmaid dresses.

We were in our dressing rooms when Alice peeped into mine with an evil grin…she had been on the phone for a while now…

"Bella…I made plans for us to meet someone at around 3PM…"

**(A/N: So...who is it?)**


	9. Chapter 8: Surprise!

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**Chapter 8: Surprise! (All dresses on my profile)  
**

"Bella…I made plans for us to meet someone at around 3PM…Say you will go with me…_Please.._" she put on her usual puppy-dog look and I gave in.

"Okay, Alice. But I will have to leave at 3.40PM to get to my modeling agency. I have a meeting at 4PM. Who are we meeting anyway?"

"That's a surprise but I am sure you will be surprised and happy that you met that person."

"Whatever. So…how do you think this dress looks? For your wedding, as the maid of honor? Fits your standards?" I twirled around to give her a 360 degree view, for her approval. It was a beautiful pale apricot shade strapless dress and it came to about 2 inches below my knee. I really liked the crinkled bust and bow-flower below the bust-line. It fit me perfectly, accentuating the curves.

"I love it, Bella! I just need to try one last dress before I decide on what I should wear to your wedding…Hold on"

My phone started ringing in that precise moment. It was Edward. I had talked to him today morning. It was just 6 hours since we spoke and Mr. Loverboy was already calling. I giggled to myself and picked up the phone thinking about something to say, to catch him by surprise.

"Hey, sexy hon, wassup?"

"Er…um…I should call you more frequently when you are shopping to hear those words, _babe_… Just called to find out how my sweetheart is doing?"

"Yeah…I just got the bridesmaid dress for my friend's wedding. I think I need to go to some more shops before I decide on my dress for our wedding. None of the designers are ready to stitch the sketch that I showed them since there is hardly a month to go for the wedding. How is work?"

"I am a little shaky right now. I got an emergency call from the hospital and I am waiting to operate on a new-born with heart problem...It quite complicated and they totally trust me with this! I am nervous."

"Am sure you will do your best Edward. The baby is in safe hands! Call me after the surgery…Okay?"

"Yeah…I should be out by 3PM or so. So you will still be shopping then?"

"No…I am meeting someone with my friend and I need to go to the agency for a meeting at 4PM. But call me anytime. Good luck, Edward."

"I need that. Thanks! Call ya later!"

"Bye"

Alice peeked out of her dressing room, wondering whom I was talking to.

"Come on Alice, show me your dress."

"Not until you tell me whom you were flirting with."

"It was _Edward_! Come out…Now!"

She came out wearing a short purple strapless dress, fitting her petite figure, with a bow in the waist. Alice looked like a doll! "I love that, Alice…It is screaming your name all over!"

Alice squealed, clapping her hands. She already had her wedding dress. It was a pale golden dress with a jeweled hard corset finish till the waist and then a flowing gown. It showed ample amount of cleavage and in the back the cut dipped straight to the small of her back.

Now that we had finished wedding clothes shopping, we went to grab a quick lunch and then went to a couple of normal dress shops and bought a few summer dresses. Next on the agenda was shoe shopping, and we had about an hour before our appointment with Alice's acquaintance.

Alice was stubborn about picking out shoes for all the clothes we had bought today. I also picked a few handbags for the casual clothes. I decided that I would not need one for the wedding clothes. Alice bought one for her wedding dress as well and when I told her that she would not even get a chance to use it, all she said was… "Bella, it makes me feel depressed to buy a dress and not any handbag to go with it!" She pouted.

We were finally done with our shopping and we headed towards the food court where we were supposed to meet up. We found a table with four chairs at the far end of the eating area and Alice left me with our bags to go to the bathroom for a quick check. Now I knew for sure that we were meeting the male species. Alice will be Alice!

I was just fiddling around with my handbag when I looked up to check for Alice. It was 3PM and she better get back fast. That was when I saw _him. _

He was tall, over 6 feet tall, with pale blonde hair. He had striking blue eyes that looked strangely familiar, even though I was quite sure that I had never in my life, met this guy. He was wearing a simple short sleeve checked-shirt with faded jeans and looked like he had just finished a photo-shoot. His arms slightly hinted at his muscles and I noticed him smiling at someone behind me. I turned around to see Alice wearing a dazed "head-over-heals" expression on her face. I turned around to see the guy walking towards Alice, with a look of pure love and adoration on his face. It was obvious that the two of them were in love. So this guy must be _Jasper._ I berated myself for having "looked-over" my best friend's fiancé.

I heard a squeal as Jasper picked up Alice in his arms and she hugged him, arms around his next and her feet around his waist (a compromising position for public display!) and kissed him passionately on his lips before she let go. He placed her on her feet and they made their way to our table.

"Hey Bella, I have heard so much about you from Alice. It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

"Hello Jasper. I guess we do not need the little pixie to introduce us formally!" I joked.

Alice just rolled her eyes and sat down, picking up the menu card. Jasper was looking at me intently.

"I do not know why Bella, but I feel like I have seen you somewhere before. I just cannot place my fingers on it!"

"Hmmm…I thought so too but unless you travel a lot to Europe, you might not have seen me before. I have never been to the states from when I was 10years old, when my dad put me in the boarding school."

"No…I have not been to Europe. But the more I think about it, the more I am confident that I know you. Where were you before you moved to Dover?"

"I was born and brought up here in NYC. My father is a business man. He owns a pharma company…you might have heard of it. SeizeIt Pharma."

"Whoa…hold on. Are you telling me that you are the daughter of Mr.Charlie Swan? _Isabella Swan_?"

"You know my dad personally?"

"As a matter of fact, yes I do. In fact we know each other too, squirt!" He winked at me.

My mouth was hanging open and I was having trouble forming coherent words. "Jazzy?"

He just nodded, smiling brilliantly. "Who else?"

I just got up from the table and went over to him, as he got up and we hugged each other. He kissed me on the cheek, affectionately. We broke apart from the spontaneous embrace to the sound of Alice's foot tapping impatiently on the floor.

"Either of you care to fill me in?"

"_Edward Cullen _just happens to be my _fiancé, _Alice!" I said sitting down on my chair.

She blinked and her eyes darted from my face to Jasper's and back, and I could almost hear her mental wheels turning, trying to fit the pieces together.

"So…you are marrying my brother-in-law Edward?"

"Yes, Alice. That sort of sums up the story!"

The next thing I knew was that I was lifted off my chair by a streak of black and white and pulled into a fierce hug and went nearly deaf when I heard the shrill Alice's trademark squeal in my ears. "Bella, it will be so much fun. We are going to be sisters. I can't express myself sufficiently to show how excited I am!"

Jasper put an arm around Alice, in an attempt to reign in her excitement and smiled at me. "Alice, I guess both Bella and I know _how _expressive _you_ are!"

She glared at him for his comment but even that could not dampen her enthusiasm.

"So, Bella, how are things? It just, what, some 12-13years since we spoke? Now, I know why you looked familiar. Its your eyes and rosy cheeks! Emmett would have had a field day seeing you blush that way!"

"You would not dare to tell him!"

"Oh yeah…try me!"

"You have not changed one bit Jazzy! I heard teddy got married!"

"Yeah…you should meet Rose. You will like her. Luckily, their daughter takes after her mother!"

We laughed and chatted for a while and then Jasper excused himself to go to the restroom. When he came back, he had an all too familiar smirk on his face…he was hiding something. On seeing his smirk, Alice started bouncing in her seat. This was not going to be good…

"Jazzy…what did you do that has your fiancé bouncing like that? It better not have anything to do with me…"

"Oh…trust me. You are not involved but you will like it." He winked making me feel even more frustrated.

_**EPOV**_

I just came out after finishing the surgery, heading towards my locker for grabbing my change clothes, when my cell phone went off. I checked my screen and it was Jasper who was calling. He mostly never called me when I was at the hospital. Feeling a growing apprehension about some problem in the final run of clinical trials for the new drug molecule, I answered the phone immediately.

"Hey Jazz, is everything okay at work?"

"Relax man. I figured that you would have switched off your phone during the surgery and if you did answer, you must be out of the theatre by now. How did it go?"

"It was more complicated than I thought but went off without a glitch. But she will take at least 3months to recover and will be in the incubator set-up in the hospital. Poor kid. So…why are you calling?"

"Hey…can't I just calling my little bro?"

"I would expect that from Em but not you. You are a strategic guy…so tell me…wassup?"

"If you are free, could you meet us at the food court in the city mall now?"

"Who are the 'us'?"

"Uh…mm..Alice and I. So will you?"

"Okay. But I need to shower and change first. I was just heading to my locker. Will be there in 20minutes."

"See you then."

"Yup. Bye."

Jasper was acting strange. Why would he invite me to meet with his fiancé? I checked my watch and it was 3.15PM. I could get there by 3.40PM max."

After showering and dressing quickly, I put on my jeans and polo-shirt and ran to my car. It was already 3.35PM. Alice was going to be mad. Rose and Alice had another thing in common- they hated when people were not punctual. I weaved my way through the traffic and reached the mall at 3.40PM, found a parking spot and ran inside. I was just on my way to the food court, trying to push past people, when I stumbled on a girl, who was carrying a cup of take-away. My shoulders hit her and I noticed that she spilt some coffee on herself. She was looking down at her dress, cursing under her breath. I noticed that she had a beautiful figure and as I retreated from her back I had an urge to touch her beautiful hair but I walked on. I did not want to face Alice's wrath. But being the gentle man, I could not just walk away. So I muttered a "Sorry, miss" from around the corner and walked away before she could turn around. I did not want to see her because I could not explain what I was feeling.

For some strange reason, I had felt connected to that woman, the moment we bumped into each other and I wanted to hold her, cradle her in my chest and I felt bad that I had to run to meet Jasper and Alice. And I was afraid that the strange connection with this girl might turn into something that I did not want to get myself involved in a month before my _wedding_!

I reached the food court to see a fuming Alice and Jasper with an apologetic look on his face.

What have I done! I thought to myself.


	10. Chapter 9:Unlucky

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating guys! But here is a treat for all of you! My longest chapter for this story so far…I wrote this chapter during my flight and I sort of liked the outcome. I hope you enjoy it too. There might be a few errors. I have not had time to re-read it and make the corrections.**

**Chapter 9: Unlucky**

_**EPOV**_

I had just reached their table, when Alice got up and poked her finger into my chest with a fierce look on her face. "_Edward Anthony Cullen,_ I have never met someone like you in my life, with such a horrible timing!You were supposed to be here at 3.30PM! How could you do this to me? It's a good thing I kept it a surprise for her…" Suddenly, her eyes widened like she had given out too much information and looked at Jasper.

"Alice, are you trying to _set _me up with someone? Did you just forget that I am _engaged_?"

"No silly! I just wanted you to meet my friend."

"_Just _a friend?"

"Not just _any_ friend Edward, but she is _…_" Jasper was cut short by Alice, who had stepped on his foot. "My _best _friend"…she finished, giving Jasper a death glare.

I decided to let the subject drop, knowing fully well that Alice would not give out any more information. I decided to grab a quick sandwich before making my way back to the office.

_**BPOV**_

It was 3.40PM already and I had to leave. Alice had been trying to make me stay for some more time. She had even unleashed the full force of her puppy-dog face but I told her flat that I had a _meeting_ that I just have to go to. After spending the whole day with me, she wanted me to stay for another _5minutes_? That girl was crazy.

I said goodbyes and even Jasper looked unhappy that I was leaving. I took his and Em's phone numbers and promised to call soon. Jasper asked me not to tell Edward that we had met and when I had asked why, Alice just told me that it would be a nice surprise for Edward and threatened to show me his photo before we met, to spoil all the fun and promises. I would not put it past Alice to punish me if I were to disobey her words. Well…I had nothing to lose, so I just agreed to their plan. I grabbed a take away coffee and left the food court.

I was just heading out of the mall when an _idiotic _guy bumped into my shoulder causing me to spill my take-away coffee on my favorite dress! I looked down at my dress after regaining my balance. There was a huge stain just below my bust and my dress looked horrible. I would have to change into one of the dresses I had bought today before going to the agency. I wanted to make a good impression with the representative here. Jake had been really nice to me and had even called to check on me yesterday to find out how my flight had been. I wanted to kill that asshole who had damaged my dress. I turned around and saw him dodging around people much like what he had done to me and all I could see was his haphazard reddish bronze 'sex-hair'. Definitely not someone I wanted to see again in my life. I hated guys who thought that walking around with tousled 'just out of bed, got laid' kind of hair… who wanted to show off their sex life to the world and think it was cool to do so!

I looked at my watch and realized it was almost 3.45PM! I called the agency, while making my way to the restroom, and told them that I will be delayed by a few minutes. The girl there told me that she would pass on the message to Quil, the guy who was supposed to manage my shoots in NYC. Jake had personally requested him to be my manager.

I changed quickly and made it to the agency at 4.07PM! I had left my car at the mall and taken a taxi, paying the cabbie double the rate for rushing through the traffic.

Quil turned out to be an amazing guy. He was a year younger than me but was one of the best in the field. He told me that he and Jake were distantly related and he had become acquainted with the field when he had spent a summer as an intern assisting Jake. He had a couple of offers for me. Calvin Klein and Dior. I accepted both the offers and they were paying much more than what I had been paid in Paris. I scheduled the photo shoots for the next day.

I told Quil that I will not be available from the 1st of August till the first week of October. That would give me enough time before the wedding and after the honeymoon to get back to work. I was hoping to talk to Esme about the boutique and start looking for a nice outlet space. Once I had the boutique running, I could spend more time on designing clothes and getting them made and have modeling as a hobby. And I also realized that after a few years I might not be able to model for these fashion products when Edward and I will start a family. I blushed at the thought of having kids.

Once the contract for the two companies was done, I left to get back to the mall to pick my car, to go home.

Edward and I talked to each other at least 10 times a day! I know, it is a bit too much! Even though he was working till late in the night to have the documents ready for the drug target announcement, he made it a point to talk to me before I went to bed. He promised to take me out this Friday night. With just a week to go for the wedding, both of us realized that it was important for us to meet! I knew that I was really falling for this guy. His personality was amazing and I knew for a fact that the emotion was mutual. The way he spoke to me was sufficient to convey his feelings, even though he had never mentioned anything about it to me, in the many conversations that we have had over the past 2 months.

Since he had a meeting in the evening till 6PM, we decided to meet in the restaurant 'La Bella Italiana'. Both Edward and I liked Italian food and he told me that it was the best one in the city. He had made reservations for the two of us at 7PM. He told me that it was a fine dining restaurant and that I would need to be in a proper dress.

I had decided on my wedding dress and was supposed to go in for the final fit tomorrow afternoon. Mine was a flowing fluffy golden ivory colored strapless dress with random golden thread embroidery work. I had picked a traditional ivory veil to go with it. Alice, already has her's ready. Alice and I went out last week to pick the wedding ring for the guys. I picked a simple ring, with brick-like patterns on semi-polished white-gold yellow-gold combination band for Edward.

In the afternoon, I went to the parlor to have my pedicure, manicure done. Once I came back home, I took a nice warm shower and blow dried my hair. I made my hair sit in a bun, with random strands lining my face. I picked out a deep teal colored dress with pin-tucked upper bodice and halter with deep V-neck, showing off quite a bit of my cleavage…it would drive Edward crazy.

I put on mild, natural make-up, picking on neutral tones for my blush and lip color. After one final glimpse in the mirror I got out of the house picking up my clutch and went to the garage for my car. I was just parking my car in the restaurant's parking place when my phone went off. It was 2 minutes to 7PM and the display on the screen said that it was Edward. _Why would he be calling when we are meeting in just 2 minutes?_

_**EPOV**_

Life had become a marathon in the run-up to the launch of this new drug candidate. Carlisle had been hard on all of us, pushing us to have every trial data perfected. Plus, I was still working at the hospital and had been called on multiple emergencies at odd hours of the night.

Bella had been amazingly understanding about my work situation and never once did she complain about not being able to meet. I knew that it was because of my schedule that we had not been able to meet so far. In the small gaps that I got between work and surgeries, I made it a point to call her and talk about my day and ask her about hers. She told me that she had taken a break from modeling till early October.

We were going off on our honeymoon on the 21st of August, 8 days after our wedding and 1 day after the drug launch party that Carlisle and Charlie will be hosting together. I had taken a few hours off from work to make it to the final fit for my wedding suit along with Jasper and Emmett. I had picked a traditional black tux for my wedding and a black suit for Jasper's with an ivory shirt and tie. Alice had been quite angry about my choice of clothing initially but had given in when she realized that I was not about to budge…for once!

I was looking forward to spending time with Bella. We had gotten to know each other really well through our phone calls and had so much in common. We would be by ourselves for about a month. She had refused to tell me the details of our honeymoon, other than telling me that I should make sure to buy enough condoms! I blushed even over the phone and everytime I thought about that particular conversation…it was then that I realized the vixen hiding behind the cool mask of my fiancé.

I had cleared my schedule at work till the first week of October and had informed the hospital as well. I lived with Carlisle and Esme, since both my brothers had bought their own condos to move in with their girlfriends. I had not had anytime to look for a house and Bella told me that we could live for a short while with my parents after the wedding and then start looking for our own house, since she wanted me to actively participate in house-hunting and I had absolutely no time for that now. Esme had in fact squealed, like Alice, when I told her that Bella and I were planning to stay at home for a while before finding our own.

Yesterday, I had taken an hour off from the office to find a ring for Bella. Agreed that we were engaged for a long time now, but I did not want to miss out on proposing to Bella, asking her to marry me. It was once in a lifetime chance and I was not going to miss that and will not give Bella the chance to regret on having missed this part. I had had to ask Alice about Bella's preference in jewelry. She told me that Bella liked simple non-flashy elegant jewelry and would love it if it had something in it that would remind her of me.

I found a beautiful white gold ring, with tiny diamonds set in it. In the centre was a heart-shaped emerald stone. The heart-shaped emerald will remind her of the fact that she would hold my heart forever. The stone matched the color of my eyes perfectly and I knew that my eyes were one of the things that women liked the most about me; having heard it from the girls who threw themselves at me all the time. I had never met Bella in a long time but I knew that I was falling in love with her. Bella, as a person, was the most beautiful thing I had encountered in my life and I knew that I would never find someone with a heart like hers. I also picked a simple diamond ring as the wedding ring for Bella. I knew Jasper was buying a ring with a huge diamond on it for Alice, but I knew that Bella would prefer something more subtle.

Today I was taking Bella out to dinner, to propose to her. I had picked La Bella Italiana, for the simple reason that the place would be perfect for _my _Bella and both of us liked Italian food. I left from work at 6.10PM, driving quickly to our home to change. I showered quickly and picked a simple black pin-stripe button down shirt and flat front casual cream-colored pant, with casual black pull-on shoes.

It was 6.40PM when I was back in my car, driving towards the restaurant. I made it there by 6.50PM and decided to get a good table before Bella arrived. I was a regular customer here and the waitress immediately recognized me. I requested for a private table and she lead me to one in the far end of the restaurant. The lighting was mild and romantic. The hostess set a tapering candle in the holder and lit it. I told her I would place my order once Bella was here. I checked my watch once again out of nervousness. Another 5more minutes before Bella arrives.

My cell phone went off, startling me with the sudden noise. I nodded to the waitress apologetically before I answered my call. . I groaned internally when I saw the number. _Not NOW!_

**A/N: I need your opinion! My vacation gave me some nice ideas for our fav couple's honeymoon ;-) But I want you guys to tell me how many chapters of their honeymoon n stuff to go. And also let me know if you would like me to take the story after the 'happy ending' where they finally fall in love or to take it further about a few years of their life together. I am undecided. I do not plan on writing a sequel for sure. **


	11. Chapter 10: Marry me?

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: Sorry to disappoint some of your requests…but hey…there are getting married soon…Those of you who feel that the way Edward goes about the proposal is not nice…I am sorry. I tried my best. **

**Chapter 10:**** Marry me? **

_**EPOV**_

_My cell phone went off, startling me with the sudden noise. I nodded to the waitress apologetically before I answered my call. . I groaned internally when I saw the number. Not NOW! __…_

It was from the hospital

"Hello…Edward Cullen here"

"Sorry to bother you Mr.Cullen but we have an emergency here. A lady gave birth to twin babies prematurely. You had been informed about their situation beforehand – the babies are joint in the forearm."

"Shit…Mrs. Peterson had them so early? She was not due until mid-October!"

"Yes, doctor. But when she was here for a check-up about an hour ago, the OB/GYN doctor noticed that the heartbeat of the babies had gone down and had performed a C-section immediately. The surgery will be over any minute now. We will not be able to handle the babies and take care of the requirements unless they are separated. And you know that you are the best we have in our hospital when it comes to operating on new-borns."

"Okay…prep the theatre and the babies once they are cleaned. I will be there in 15minutes max. Have my sterile scrubs ready!"

"Okay Dr.Cullen. Thank you and I will have them arranged."

"Yeah. Bye"

Crap. Today I thought I would finally see my Bella and I get called in for an emergency 5minutes before I meet her! God…what did I ever do to deserve this?

I signaled for the head-waitress, Mrs.Cope and requested for a pen and a piece of paper. I knew her since she had waited on us on many of the business clients I had brought here. I quickly wrote a note to Bella and after instructing the waitress about what I wanted her to do and paying for it, I called Bella on her cell phone. It was 2 minutes to 7PM! I was making my way out of the aisle, where I had requested for a private table!

"Hey Edward, I am almost there!" she said enthusiastically.

It almost killed me to know that I was going to let her down. I knew this would upset her. It would upset any girl.

"Bella…" I started tentatively, not knowing what to say, but she was quick to catch the stress in my voice.

"Edward, is something wrong? Are you okay?" her voice edging towards the state of panic towards the end. God, this woman is amazing…she was caring about me, when I was calling to cancel our date.

"No…I am sorry Bella, but it is just that something important came up. There is an emergency in the hospital. A lady delivered prematurely and I need to operate on the new-borns ASAP. I am on my way to the hospital."

"Oh…I am so sorry Edward. Are the babies okay?"

"Yeah…they should be…after the surgery at least. I am sorry to cancel out on you Bella but I want to go ahead with what I had planned for us tonight. Will you please go to the restaurant as planned?"

"What is the point of dining alone, Edward? It is okay…I understand your situation. We will meet at Alice and Japer's wedding anyways."

"No Bella…please, for me. I have something planned and I want to make sure that I go through with that!"

"Okay…if that is so important to you. What should I do when I get there?"

"Hmm…just walk in and ask for…" the call waiting on my cell phone started beeping and I saw that it was from the hospital again! "Bella…I will just call you back. It is from the hospital again."

"Sure…I am just going to the restaurant!"

I connected my hands-free set to my mobile as I picked up the call and was running out of the restaurant. "Yeah…yeah…I am on my way." I was not watching where I was going and I almost knocked off the girl who was coming from the other side. My reflexes got the better of me and just before she could land on the stairs, I caught her. My hand scrapped her perfect round bottom (_uh…perfect round? Where did that come from?)_ and I noticed her flush. Her face was hidden from me by the stray strands of hair. In my hurry, I did not even bother to apologize as I set her down on her feet and started to move quickly towards my car.

I thought I heard something along the lines of 'jerk' and 'bastard' behind me. I switched the car into reverse and started backing out of the lot. I re-dialed Bella's number.

"Hey…" she sounded a little breathless.

"Are you all right?"…I was worried for her.

"Um…yeah…I just went through something unpleasant but I am okay now."

"Okay…I want you to do as I tell you…please! Go and ask for Mrs. Cope, the head-waitress there. I will be on hold. Tell her that you were supposed to meet me."

I heard her ask for Mrs. Cope and then greet her. I heard the rhythmic clicking of her heals and knew that Mrs. Cope was taking her to _our _table. How I wish I could be there instead of rushing to the hospital!

I heard a soft "Oh…thanks" from the other end, which meant that the surprise had bean served.

"I did not know you had ordered the food…what did you order anyway?"

_**BPOV**_

I answered the phone at once, when I saw who was calling.

"Hey Edward, I am almost there!" I was too excited. I was finally meeting my fiancé, after nearly 12 years, and we were getting married in less than a week.

"Bella…" He sounded upset…did something happen…a million possibilities were running through my head then…

I could not keep the tension out of my voice "Edward, is something wrong? Are you okay?"

"No…I am sorry Bella, but it is just that something important came up. There is an emergency in the hospital. A lady delivered prematurely and I need to operate on the new-borns ASAP. I am on my way to the hospital."

Disappointment flooded through my being…I was not lucky after all. But I knew that it was equally hard in him and wanted to be there for him.

"Oh…I am so sorry Edward. Are the babies okay?"

"Yeah…they should be…after the surgery at least. I am sorry to cancel out on you Bella but I want to go ahead with what I had planned for us tonight. Will you please go to the restaurant as planned?"

_Was he crazy? _"What is the point of dining alone, Edward? It is okay…I understand your situation. We will meet at Alice and Japer's wedding anyways." _Hopefully, I added mentally._

"No Bella…please, for me. I have something planned and I want to make sure that I go through with that!"

How could I refuse him when he pleaded with me? "Okay…if that is so important to you. What should I do when I get there?"

"Hmm…just walk in and ask for…" he stopped abruptly and then… "Bella…I will just call you back. It is from the hospital again."

"Sure…I am just going to the restaurant!"

I locked the car and put the keys into my clutch and started walking towards the entrance. I was watching my step on the stairs and last I had looked up, I had not seen anyone there. So it came as a shock when someone banged right into me. I lost my balance and was about to land on the stairs painfully, when an arm shot out and held me. But awkwardly…that guy had a good aim.

I felt his hand scrap the fabric against my butt and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. How dare he…and he did not even bother to apologize as he helped me balance on my feet. I turned to see a familiar tuft of strange messy bronze hair running down the stairs. He had his back to me and was fiddling with the hands-free set. I could not help but conclude that he must be the same _jerk _from the mall.

"Jerk, Bastard…Ass-hole"I muttered in a low voice, half-hoping that he would have heard it. It is not everyday that one comes across such ungentlemanly guys with the same kind of unnatural hair! _Ew…_he was sick.

I would have gone after him, to give him a piece of my mind, had it not been for my cell phone. It was Edward calling me back.

"Hey…" I was trying to get my breathing to settle-down.

"Are you all right?" Concern dripped from every word and it thrilled me but I did not want to talk about that _idiot _ and spoil Edward's mood. Being the gentleman that he always was, he might come back to hunt down that _jerk._.

"Um…yeah…I just went through something unpleasant but I am okay now."

"Okay…I want you to do as I tell you…please! Go and ask for Mrs. Cope, the head-waitress there. I will be on hold. Tell her that you were supposed to meet me."

I made my way to the waiter at the entrance and asked for that lady. She was a middle-aged woman with a motherly, warm smile and a pleasant voice. I returned her greetings and she took me to a table, at the far end of the restaurant. She left for a minute, before she was back with a tray carrying a covered dish.

I muttered my thanks, wondering if Edward had ordered the food already. But I wanted to know what it was before I opened the lid.

"I did not know you had ordered the food…what did you order anyway?"

_**EPOV**_

Okay…this is it Edward…do it properly…After the prep-talk that I gave myself I went on. "Hmmm…it was the spur of the moment decision. Did you open it? I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on what I am saying when you open it."

"Um… okay. Eyes closed…can I open the dish?"

"Yeah…go on…but keep them closed and finger around for the food."

I heard the sound of metal hitting the table and I knew that the lid had come off…anytime now… "Oh!"

"Bella, I know that we have not even seen each other in ages but I feel like I have always been with you. I have never once regretted the fact that I was having an arranged marriage, but only because I was going to have _you, _Isabella, as _my lovely wife._ I promise to be with you always, through happy and bitter moments, to care for you, to just be there for you and love you forever. I know that this is a strange way to do things…a first, probably, but still _(_I was struggling to get to the point…I was nervous!_)_…_Isabella Marie Swan, will you marry me and make me the happiest man on this Earth_?"

There…I had done it…I did not go as I had planned, but this is the best I could do over the phone. I realized that I was nervous as I waited for her answer. _Say yes…please…_

I heard the beautiful word flow past her lips…"Yes"

"Can you place the ring on your finger, where it rightfully belongs?'

"Of course, Edward!" Short silence… "I was not expecting you to propose after all these years…but you could not have made me any happier, Edward!"

"Sorry…I had to do it over the phone…" I was just parking in the car park of the hospital.

"I know…are you at the hospital yet?"

"Just parked the car. I must get going now. Shall I call you once I am done? But it might be late…"

"I will be waiting…Good luck, Edward!"

"Bye…"

I switched off my phone as I ran into the hospital and proceeded towards the shower and changing rooms. It was going to be a long night…

**A/N: Reviews keep me writing...so you know what to do! ;-)**


	12. Chapter 11: Angel Alice

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: I know I have not updated in a long time, but work and family kept me busy. So...here is the next chapter. I have never been to a traditional wedding ceremony, so please excuse any errors. ****A big thanks to my wonderful friend who narrated a wedding ceremony, to help me write this chapter! So…on we go! **

**Alice's and Bella's dress for the wedding- links are under Chapter 8, in my profile. I also put the links for their morning dress on my profile.  
**

**Chapter 11: Angel Alice**

_**EPOV**_

I returned home, at around midnight, extremely exhausted but totally blissful. _She had agreed to marry me! _And the surgery had been a success. The babies were quite weak and will have to be kept in the peri-natal incubators in the hospital for about 3 months, but they would survive. Tomorrow would be equally demanding, with finishing all the paper work for the transfer of IP rights to Charlie, for him to start off the production of the drug. I showered, changed and the last thing I remember was my head touching the pillow.

--

I woke up to the sound of the alarm clock on my desk. I got ready, grabbed a quick breakfast of cereals and got to the company with in the hour. I noticed that both my parents were not at home when I left. As soon as I reached my office, my secretary informed me that my dad had called some 5minutes back.

I shut the door to my office and grabbed the phone in one quick fluid move.

"Hey Carlislie, good morning. Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Morning Edward. But I am afraid it is not that pleasant. We need to nail down a few details. Could you drop by my office ASAP?"

"Sure. Will be right in."

When I reached Carlislie's office I saw that both Emmett and Jasper were already there. I wondered what Jasper was doing at the office when he was getting married tomorrow!

"Hey…so what is the issue Carlislie?"

"The bureaucrats at the FDA have come up with some issue. They saw that the data for the placebo in the trials are not accurate and want a meeting tomorrow."

"But, we have discussed this with them before. Its Jasper's wedding tomorrow and we need the final approval before the announcement party. Charlie will be so pissed!"

"Yes…we have to meet with them tomorrow. It is either you or me who will have to come in. Emmett and Jasper have no clue about the data and they can not be absent from the ceremony."

I cursed the damn bureaucrats in my mind. I never used any swear words in front of my parents. "I will come in Carlislie. You should be there for the wedding."

I will have to miss my brother's wedding. It is a good thing that Emmett was his best man. Carlislie had to be there for the wedding…he was the father. Yet again, I will not be able to see her. I _really _hope I do not miss me own wedding!

It was midnight by the time I got back home from work. I had called Bella a couple of hours back for the usual good night call and told her that I will not be around for the wedding. She tried to be understanding, but deep down inside I could feel the sadness in her voice. I vowed to make it up to her…_soon…very soon._

_**BPOV**_

I spent the day packing my stuff to be sent to Edward's place after our wedding. I packed my clothes for our honeymoon separately. I had taken the liberty to buy Edward and myself a new wardrobe for our trip. I told him not to worry about any packing and that I had taken care of everything. He seemed genuinely surprised.

Once I was done with the packing, I had nothing to do but watch TV or listen to some music. I decided to go to bed early, counting down the hours left before Alice's wedding, when I could finally see him. After grabbing a quick dinner, I showered and got ready to go to bed.

The special ringtone on my phone brought me out of my trance and I realized that Edward was calling. He sounded extremely exhausted and told me that he still had to work for at least a couple of hours and have everything for the meeting tomorrow. I did not realize it that he said '_tomorrow_'. Only when he explained to me the FDA authorities pulling off a last minute stunt did I really believe him.

I could feel that he was terribly upset that he was missing his brother's wedding and also, seeing me, the last chance he would have before our wedding. I also noted the tinge of guilt in his voice, like he had failed me…let me down. This guy was so amazing and selfless. I tried to mask my own distress and let him know that I was there to support him and understood the problems of being in this business. But I am almost sure that he sensed the disappointment in my voice. I was like we could feel what the other person was feeling, even if we were miles away, just talking over the phone. After wishing him luck for the meeting, I went to bed but could not really fall into a deep sleep. I woke up at least 4-5 times.

I gave up on getting any sleep when I saw that it was 6AM. I had to get to Alice's house by 8.30 to start our hectic day of primping ourselves and preparing for her wedding. I took a nice, long bubble bath to calm my nerves, dressed in a simple printed sleeveless dress. I did not put on any make up except for the mild lip-gloss since we were spending the better part of the afternoon getting our facials and make-overs.

After picking up the cereal bar from the kitchen cabinet I rushed to the car. My bubble bath had taken much longer than I had planned. I reached Alice's house and saw her waiting on the porch in a cute single shoulder sleeveless silk dress, tapping her foot impatiently. Her eyes narrow when I got out of the car.

I started speaking before that pixie could pounce on me. "Sorry Alice, I am late. Now let us not waste anymore time in arguing. Didn't you say that we had an appointment at the parlor for waxing at 9.15? We just have 15minutes, hon. C'mon!"

She 'humpfed' and growled' but got into my car any way.

Soon we were back in Alice's house, our hair and make-up done. Alice was looking like an angel…extremely beautiful, so much that she could give any model, yes, including me, a run for the money. We still had about an hour before we had to leave for the ceremony.

Alice's mother was all dressed up and waiting for us. We went up to Alice's room and helped her into her wedding dress and while her mother zipped up the dress, I helped Alice into her shoes. If she looked like an angel before, the sight before me was so beautiful that it hurt… she was glowing, dazzlingly beautiful. After we gave her our compliments, her mother helped me into my bridesmaid dress. We then did a quick touch up of the make-up and fixed the hair to perfection.

Before we knew it I was comforting Alice, trying to convince her that Jasper was perfect and the marriage would work. She was having the last minute qualms and doubts that almost every woman has just before she has to walk down the aisle.

Alice's father knocked on the door, informing us that the ceremony was about to begin. I picked up the beige roses bouquet and went to stand at the entrance. I could see Jasper standing at the Altar, fiddling with the bow around his neck. Next to him stood a huge man, patting him on the back, who I guessed must be Emmett. That guy had always been on the body-builder category, right from our childhood. I got my signal to play my role as bridesmaid. As I started walking towards the Altar, Jasper and Emmett flashed me a smile. But Jasper's eyes were transfixed on the door, now behind me, waiting for Alice to walk down. I took my position parallel to Emmett, on the other side and turned around, as the music started playing. Alice was literally gliding down the aisle, her small hands in her father's arms. Jasper had a dazed look on his face and so did many others in the audience.

Alice's dad gave her a peck on the cheek before giving her hand over to Jasper, who took it in his so carefully, as if she were made of glass. I held white rose bouquet when the ceremony began. Once their vows were said and the rings were exchanged, the priest announced them married. Jasper lifted Alice off the ground in a sweet hug and kissed her. I could see the beady look on Alice's face. It only felt like yesterday when we had met in the boarding school. Now, we were grown-ups. Alice was a married woman and I will soon be one. But the best part will always be that my best friend and I will be a part of the same family, having chosen the brothers as our husbands.

Once the crowd walked out, we went to sign the papers. Emmett immediately pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Its been so ling Bella and look at you…all grown up…who knew I would see the day when my squirt will be the soon-to-be bride" I pretended to wipe out the tears from his eyes, while still holding on to me. I could feel myself getting dizzy at the lack of oxygen. I finally managed to choke out the 2 words that would save me from all the embarrassment and concern.

"Can't…breathe!"

"Oh…of course…I forgot about your breathing issues Bella…" he mocked.

Once we finished the paper work, we went outside and got into the limo, which would take us to the reception party.

Emmett introduced me to a beautiful blonde, by the name of Rosalie as his wife. She hugged me and I soon found myself starting to like her. She was like no other blonde I had ever met. She was likeable and intelligent! Their daughter Deonna was the prettiest baby I have ever laid my eyes on. She had Rosalie's eyes, a beautiful, striking blue and Emmett's curly brown hair.

I danced with my dad, Carlislie, Emmett and Jasper as well. I took care of Deonna when all the couples went to dance. I missed Edward and was wondering if he was still in the meeting and if the authorities had signed the papers. In just 48 hours, I will be Mrs. Cullen and in Edward's arms, dancing and laughing.

I silently wished for the time to fly past quickl. I was looking forward to my life with Edward...


	13. Chapter 12: I do

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. ****I got a little too engrossed in reading some fanfiction! Since I did not get any complaints about the wedding scene being inappropriate, I guess I pulled it off quite well ;-) I would like to reply to a couple of anonymous review that I got. **

**Alana: Thanks! It will be good if you could leave a link/id where I can reply to your message personally instead of putting it in the A/N.**

**Alisia: In a world of business and money, where the betrothal actually took place as a**** 'pact', it is not surprising that they have not met. But they did try. With Edward working two jobs and being a surgeon, he is quite busy. Also, he decides to attend the meeting because of his selflessness. He wants the best for his brother and parents. And he got called to the hospital on the day he was to propose. The meeting in the mall did not work because of Alice- she never told Bella that Edward was on his way to meet her. Her surprise plan backfired! Jasper is not that uncommon for her to immediately think of Jasper Cullen as Alice's boyfriend. But she did piece things together when they met! And finally…it's a fanFICTION… no one said its reality! So give some margin for imagination! ;-)**

**Chapter 12: I do!**

**A/N: The links to the photos of wedding dresses and rings are under Chapter 9 on my profile. ****Okay…now on we go with the story. The part that everyone has been waiting for!Hope it was worth the wait. I enjoyed writing this chapter tremendously. Hope you do too! ;-)  
**

_**BPOV**_

The day has finally arrived, the day that I have been dreading about and at the same time waiting for. I was getting married today. I was expecting Alice and Rosalie to come over any minute now to start getting ready for the ceremony. My dress hung against the wall, safely in its garment bag. I had refused another trip to the parlor and had instead arranged for my personal beautician, the one that my modeling agency used, to drop by at my house after lunch. Her name is Angelina. She was quick and professional and it took her hardly 20minutes to get both my hair and make-up done for the shoots. But today, I knew it would take longer, considering the fact that it was my wedding and also, the fact that Alice would be here today. She would have to help Alice and Rose as well with the hair-do and stuff. Rose and I had become good acquaintances during Alice's wedding. Rosalie… she was synonymous to perfection. She had the looks and the figure any girl would kill for and also a beautiful personality. Emmett was truly a lucky man. Every time I saw Rose with Deonna, I felt like my heart would jump out of its place from pure joy. I wished the same for myself. I loved children and wanted to have some, hopefully, sometime soon. I knew for a fact that Edward also liked kids, from out discussions over the phone.

As I sat on my bed, enjoying the last few hours in my soon-to-be ex-room, I decided to check the documents set for our honeymoon. Everything was arranged and well organized. The only thing that remained was the wedding ceremony and the drug approval, followed by Carlislie's party. The guys had confirmed with Alice that they would technically be a little free after today and that we could plan for some bonding time, before we left on our honeymoon. Alice was in-charge of planning those activities and that sort of made me uneasy. I was quite adventurous but Alice took the word to a whole new level that I was not looking forward to. But if I am with Edward…I guess I should be fine…or not??

The ringing of the bell brought me out of my reverie and I went downstairs to open the door. Alice and Rose where there…beaming at me. We hugged each other quickly and waited for Angelina to arrive. Both of them had brought their dress with them so that we could get ready together.

"Esme will drop by about 15min before we need to leave for the ceremony" Alice mentioned.

Of course…Esme would come-by…she was more like my mother than my soon-to-be mother-in-law. I was getting nervous all of a sudden and I will need Esme's soothing words to cool me down.

Rose was telling us about Deonna's latest game when the door bell rang. Angelina was standing on the porch with all her 'equipment'.

Soon she got busy with getting me ready. She worked on Rose's and Alice's hair when mine was left to set.

Before I knew…they were tying the corset strings and pulling the wedding gown over me. My hair and make-up was done beautifully. Angelina went with mild natural make-up that made my pale skin glow. When I saw myself in the mirror, I gasped. I was a model and was used to having people fuss over my clothes and make-up but seeing myself there in my glorious wedding gown and veil left me speechless. Silent tears of gratitude welled-up in my eyes and I tried to blink them back before I hugged the three of them.

"Shush now…pretty bride…we don't want your husband to be mad at us for making you all gooey gooey". Rose commented and it made me blush furiously. _My husband…my Edward. I will be Mrs. Isabella Cullen within the next 2 hours!_

Esme arrived wearing a sexy, yet dignified dress looking amazingly young for someone who had 3 sons in their 20+ years! She hugged me tightly and patted me on the back.

"I am so glad you will finally, officially become my daughter…and in less than an hour! I am so happy Bella! I can not ask for a better wife for my son. Edward and you are made for each other."

"And he is so going to fall for you when he sees you…" Rose winked at me…not so subtly.

_**EPOV**_

I was dressed and ready to go. We just went out to the pub last night for a short drink, the so called bachelors party, since we did not have time. I was in a way glad that we were so busy, otherwise Emmett would have gone overboard with the bachelors party and lets face it…I am a virgin guy who gets teased for the status and can blush quite easily for a guy!

I was a little nervous and Jasper caught me adjusting and readjusting my tie in the mirror and trying in vain to tame my hair.

"It passes man…once you see your bride walking down the aisle, that's all that will matter and all that you will see. Bella is really beautiful."

"You don't have to rub it in that _I_ am the only one who has still not met her…Karma really sucks!"

"Oh…you will have _all_ night to _see _her and…" Emmett wriggled his eyebrows suggestively. Leave it to Emmett to bring up inappropriate thoughts! "After tonight…our lil bro will no longer be the pure innocent Eddie that we all know…"

Jasper snickered. Thankfully my dad walked in right then saving me from further embarrassment. He patted me on my back supportively.

"Time to head out guys. Your mom will arrive with the girls directly at the church"

--

I stood there at the altar waiting for the ceremony to begin. We were having a simple traditional ceremony and a grand reception after that. Jasper took his place next to me followed by Emmett.

My parents were seated right behind us, saving a seat for Charlie to join them once he gave away Bella to me. Bella had been so taken with Deonna that she had insisted that Rose walk in with a pram so that Deonna can be the ring-bearer.

I was fidgeting with my suit once again, when I heard the music start. Jasper nodded to me, assuring me silently that it was going to be a good beginning to a wonderful life. I turned around slightly so that I could catch a glimse of my Bella…_wow…my Bella…_it sounds too good to be true…

Rose walked in with Deonna, followed by Alice who was Bella's maid of honor. My eyes were blinded by the beauty that met my eyes when Bella walked in, hand in hand with her father. I heard people gasp when Bella entered. She was wearing a dazzling ivory wedding dress, with cute embroidery patterns that scattered light and made her glow…Bella was beautiful…no…that was an understatement…she was a goddess. _My own goddess. _She was smiling gloriously as she saw Carlislie and Esme. Her eyes slowly drifted towards where I was standing. Our eyes met for the smallest fraction of a second and her eyes widened and her step faltered. She caught herself before someone noticed and continued her walk down the aisle. I waited on the altar for Charlie to hand over Bella's hand to me…but it seemed to take them forever to reach here. Bella kept her eyes down and never once looked up after our brief 'encounter'. _Did she not like me? I knew that I was not good enough for a goddess like her but was she so disappointed that she did not even want to look at me? _The other, more sensible part of my mind told me that she was just watching her step, so as to not trip over and embarrass herself.

Charlie kissed Bella on her forehead and carefully placed her hand in mine, and left to join my parents. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze to silently convey to her that she was looking stunning, and that I would take care of her. She looked up and our eyes met once again. Hers were deep pools of chocolate, so deep that it was a bottomless ocean of mystery…I could get lost in those eyes. She gave me a cute little smile and turned to face the priest as the ceremony began.

We said our vows and before I realized, I heard those words I had been dying to hear from her…

"I do". If I thought that her voice was beautiful over the phone, it was nothing compared to hearing it in person. It was music to my ears. She was _my own personal nightingale._

I heard the gruff (compared to Bella's) voice of the priest. "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

I wrapped my arms gently around her slender waist and brought her a little closer to me as I leaned down to kiss her. As our lips met in the shortest of the kisses possible, I felt a jolt of electricity rock my mind, body and soul…_She was MY wife…MY Bella…and I was unintentionally and irrevocably in LOVE with her! _

When we broke away from the sweet chaste kiss, people started clapping and congratulating. But all that felt insignificant next to the woman I held in my arms, _my wife._

She blushed a beautiful shade of pink, that I knew had nothing to do with her make-up and smiled at me. I was truly the luckiest and happiest man on Earth!

_**BPOV**_

We reached the church in the limo and I saw the guests entering the church. Once I got out of the car, Rose and Alice lead me to the small room where we could wait till it was time for me to walk in with Charlie. Esme left us to join her husband inside the church. Rose adjusted Deonna in her pram and placed the rings such that they would not fall out if Deonna woke up or wriggled in her spot. Deonna, my ring-bearer had fallen asleep during the short car ride to the church. Rose had left her with Esme when she arrived at my house today morning and Esme brought her along since Deonna was starting to miss her mommy.

Alice hugged me once again and adjusted the frills on my dress making sure that everything was perfect.

"Just look into Edward's eyes when you walk down the aisle…and you will no longer be nervous…trust me Bella…I know…" Alice tried to make me feel more comfortable and get over my nervousness.

The knock on the door signaled us that it was time for the ceremony. Charlie looked really handsome in his suit and offered me his hand.

"You look beautiful Bella. Renee would have been so proud of you!" He kissed me on the cheek and secured my hand around his arm as we started walking down the aisle. I looked up to see Carlislie and Esme beaming proudly at me from the front row. I saw Emmett and Jasper in their tux near the altar and I saved my sight for the most important person in the end. I looked towards where Edward must have been standing and the first thing that caught my eyes was the unruly bronze hair. With my heart pounding like there was no tomorrow, my eyes travelled down to the face. A sparkling green pair of eyes connected with mine. Those were the most beautiful pair of eyes that I had ever seen…greenest of the green shade. Dazzling. I almost tripped…and saved myself in the last minute. My mind was thrown out of the loop. I needed to concentrate on my wedding march…and I looked down at the carpet, trying to stay on two feet while arranged my jumbled thoughts.

The _same _hair…the guy at the mall, the one at the restaurant who had bumped into me and behaved in such an ungentlemanly manner…the one that I thought should meet _my _Edward…was my Edward? That day at the mall when I had met Jazzy…Alice had tried to hold me back, delay my departure ever and Jazzy had been too smug the whole time after he came back from the restroom. Realization struck me. Jasper had made Edward get to the mall with out Edward knowing that Jasper had met me there. Otherwise Edward would have called me right then. And then there was the restaurant…Edward told me on the phone that he was getting out of the restaurant to go to the hospital…he had _literally _meant _getting out of the restaurant!_ And he had been in a _hurry _on both those occasions. Our conversations on the phone definitely said something about his personality and my heart knew that he was a nice guy…everyone makes mistakes right? At least he did not try to hit on a random girl he had bumped into. Most guys use that as an excuse to start a conversation. No…I believe that Edward is a decent guy and a gentleman. I will try to put behind both the accidents.

Just as my thoughts were clearing up Charlie pecked me on my forehead and placed my hand into Edward's. He gave my handle a gentle squeeze…something private that only the two of us could feel and no one would notice the silent message that he was communicating to me. I was in safe hands…he was telling me that he would take care of me and be there for me… As I looked up at him, a smile automatically graced my lips. His eyes were shinning with joy and…_love?_ Edward was breathtakingly handsome and could give any model or actor the run for their money. At 6'2" Edward had the perfect build and well chiseled facial features. He was the alive walking version of Adonis!

The ceremony started and we said our vows. And then came the final part. I took in a deep breathe.

"Do you Edward Anthony Cullen accept Isabella Marie Swan as your lawfully wedded wife?

"I do". Edward's voice was filled with emotion. He meant every word of our vows and he was now making me _his_ forever.

I said my part and we exchanged rings. The priest then pronounced us married and it was time for our first kiss as husband and wife…well first kiss between us ever.

Edward's arms went around my waist sending waves of excitement and anticipation through my body. Our eyes connected as he brought his lips down to mine. It was a sweet chaste kiss filled with emotion and promise. A silent promise of a 'forever'. The kiss was simply _magical._ I was brought out of the fairytale land by the loud applause from the guests.

This was the beginning of our forever. I realized then that Edward was the man I was meant to be with…the man I wanted to be with…my soul mate, my better half, _my Edward._ My epiphany brought tremendous joy and confidence in myself, Edward and in _us_. It felt so right to have his arm around my waist and I leaned into him. I wanted to stay like this forever and that is exactly what I planned to do…

Forever with Edward…I sighed in content… I, Isabella Marie Cullen, was happily married…

**A/N: So...did you like it? Upto your expectations? Be nice and leave some reviews to fuel my writing speed... ;-)**


	14. Chapter 13:Offer

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: Sorry…I guess the author's note is getting all to familiar to most of you. Once again, my apologies for not updating earlier as promised. I had some unexpected meetings and deadlines to finish at work and hence the delay. Hope you enjoy this chapter…and advance apologies for the cliff-hanger ;-)**

**Chapter 13: ****Offer**

_**BPOV**_

We signed the papers, left the church and got into the limo. For the entire time, Edward kept his hand around my waist or shoulder or at the small of my back or at least held my hand in his. He seems as content as I was in maintaining some contact, like it was the only convincing proof that we were together and none of this was a dream. Alice and the wedding planner had come up with a list of places to stop at and have pictures taken. We finally made it to the reception center, nearly an hour and half after we had left from the church. Alice quickly re-did my make-up when I got out of the car and made sure that my hair was still held in its place!

We could now hear the DJ announce over the microphone and Edward pulled me towards him, embracing me in his warmth. He gave me a soft kiss on my head, his nose in my hair and I would not have felt it, had I not been hyper-aware of Edward's every touch and presence.

Alice and Jasper walked in hand-in-hand before us and then it was time for us to walk into the hall.

The gathering was huge and I heard a few gasps as we entered. A wide smile broke across my face and I could not keep from doing so. When my eyes quickly scanned the crowd, a familiar face caught my eye, as if it was possible to miss that gangly 6'6" tanned figure. Jake. He nodded his approval when he knew that he had my attention, causing me to blush.

We took our seats as per the plan and the dinner began.

After everyone had finished their meal, the DJ started the music and it was time for the father-daughter dance. Charlie offered me his hand and we walked to the center of the dance floor and started dancing. Half-way through the song, Edward came over to us and Charlie gave me a kiss on the cheek and handed me over to my husband.

The song quickly transformed into another more romantic song. Dancing with Edward was unlike dancing with anyone. He was graceful, elegant and yet _so masculine. _He held me close as we danced and I heard his breathing hitch a little, every time he dipped me during the song. My giggled to myself. The neck of the wedding gown was décolleté and I was almost sure about the view he had been awarded with when he dipped me. We danced for a few more songs when someone interrupted us.

"Hey, Congratulations Mr. Cullen. Do you mind if I steal your wife for a dance?"

Edward looked at me questioningly and I knew what he was asking as though he had spoken those words out loud.

"Edward, this is Jake and Jake, meet my husband Edward Cullen."

"Nice to meet you Jake and please call me Edward. is my dad."

"Sure. Can I now borrow Bella for one song then?"

"Yeah…but only one. I will back, claiming my wife soon enough."

With that, Edward pecked me on the cheek and left towards the drinks counter.

I stared after him, unable to take my eyes off the retreating form of my _husband_. It was still hard to believe I was married to Edward. It had felt like a far off incident a couple of months ago…

A deep chuckle brought me out of my thoughts and warmth pooled in my cheeks. I was truly the blushing bride today…Edward brought that side out of me…the confident model girl.

"I guess you owe me a dance since I managed to fly across half the world to get here on time" Jake teased.

He took my one hand in his and placed the other on my lower back. And we started dancing to a slow song…ideal for conversations.

"So Jake…how have you been? Whom did you convince to be your new chick?"

"Yeah…I have been doing fine. I really miss you in Paris. Shooting was so much fun with you around…we just have those blond bimbos now…" He shuddered at the thought. "There is actually something I wanted to talk to you about."

I nodded letting him know that he could go on.

"Vogue wanted our agency to do their cover page for the next issue."

"Wow…that's an awesome break-through for you, Jake! I am so happy for you!" I beamed at him.

"And…I was just wondering if my favorite girl will do the honor of filling their cover page…"

Did he just ask me to model for Vogue. That was a dream come true but their next issue meant… we had about 3 weeks before that. I will be on my honey moon…Sure…Edward and I were going to Paris but I was not going to let work interfere with our time together. He noticed my hesitation and started talking once again.

"It will be an amazing opportunity for you Bells…I know you will be flying to Paris in less than a week and with you the photo shoot never takes more than an hour…its like you know what we are aiming for…you can even bring Edward along so he can see you at work… He will be proud of you…"

"Jake…I don't think it's a good idea to tell him about a photo shoot when we are on our honeymoon."

"Why don't you just try to talk to him about this…eh? You don't have to tell me today…take a couple of days and let me know…."

"Um…okay…but I am not promising anything…mostly it will be the negative!"

"Thanks, Bells!"

The song came to an end and Edward promptly claimed me again. Being in Edward's arms was nice…it felt like home…where I belonged…

"I saw Jake and you in a pretty serious discussion…are you okay?"

"Yeah…I am fine. He was just telling me about work…nothing much."

Edward nodded and held me tightly to his chest…now and then as we swayed to the music he would bend down and kiss my hair and inhale my scent…

Slowly the crowd started to leave and I had been on my feet for long hours… I was exhausted and from the looks of it…so was Edward.

Our families waved their greetings and Alice winked at me and wished me luck. "I will be expecting a call from you bright and early tomorrow morning Isabella…" she gave me one of the _mother Alice _ looks. I meekly nodded. Until that moment I had not been thinking about what was going to happen when Edward and I got to my home. Charlie had gifted us a new bungalow as a wedding present…fully decorated and furnished. That sneaky little pixie had helped him set up everything…along with Esme's help of course!

When we reached the door of the banquet hall, Edward lifted me up, bridal style and walked down the stairs to the waiting limo. We could hear some hooting and cat calls from our family….at least Emmett Jasper and Alice…

There was a loud smack followed by "Rosie baby…I was just prepping Eddie for the night"…it was followed by another smack and by then we got to the limo.

The driver opened the door and Edward set me on the seat gently and pecked me on my lips.

Soon he was by my side and we were driving through the streets of NYC to our home…This day was the happiest ever in my life!


	15. Chapter 14:Temptation

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: Links for the dresses for this chapter on my profile.**

**Chapter 14: Temptation**

_**EPOV**_

The reception was everything I had ever dreamed of having and much more. Bella was perfect. The way her body molded into mine was miraculous….like we were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. One does not make sense without the other but together they make a beautiful picture. I did not want to leave her side for even a second but when her friend wanted to share a dance with her and I could see that she was happy to see him…I could not deny her anything.

From the way he looked at her…I knew that at some point in their history he had been in love with her but from reading Bella's eyes I knew that I had nothing to worry about…she saw him only as a good friend and nothing more. But this knowledge did not stop me from watching them dance…I felt a primal instinct…was I jealous of Jake?

From the emotions that played across her face I knew that they were having a serious conversation and she was in a dilemma. I claimed my wife back as soon as the song got over. Being away from her made me anxious… yeah right! For someone who has been married only for over 5 hours and had not met earlier…this was a very strong emotion. Even a little cheesy.

I wanted to know what was bothering her but did not want to pry too much…I wanted Bella to open up to me and discuss things. I wanted to be a person she could confide in…be her best friend…and then of course a wonderful husband. She deserved only the best. Call me biased…but I don't care. She was my angel and that is all that mattered.

I could see the exhaustion take over her body towards the end of the reception…it was there in every sway of her body…the way her small hands held mine with a little less force. I wondered if she would still feel like letting things proceed tonight. I was in no hurry to show her the depth of my feelings for her but I wanted to be sure that she felt the same way before we rushed into things. I did not want just sex with her…I wanted to make love to her. I wanted our first time together to be special when we will share the last bit of ourselves with each other.

I picker her up in the bridal style when we reached the entrance of the hall and carried her down the steps to our limo. I could hear the ruckus that my two brothers were making…teasing me for my actions…it did not distract me. But what had my attention was the beautiful shade of pink that now graced her cheeks. They were oh-so-kissable!

Bella was nearly asleep by the time we reached our new home. Charlie had given us this house as a wedding gift. I guess he should have decided on this when I told him that we were planning to stay for a short while at my parents house till we found time to look for a good house.

I kissed her forehead and tried to wake her up.

"Bella…we are home. Wake up, honey". She looked confused when she woke up but when she realized that we were together in the limo and still in our wedding dress…she looked down…the color pooling on her cheeks told me that she was embarrassed. Before I knew what I was doing, my fingers grazed across her cheeks and I gave her a small peck right over the warmth of her cheeks. They turned an even darker shade.

I got out of the car and tipped the chauffer for the ride and was at her door opening it for her. My eyes met her beautiful doe-shaped ones. Oh…I was a lucky man. Bella was truly a goddess…

I lifted her up once again and when she opened her mouth to complain I quickly shushed her.

"Traditions, love". She nodded and snaked her arms around my neck.

I carried her up the porch to the door but I wanted her to be the one to open the door.

"The key is in my jacket pocket… I want you to open the door for us."

We entered the house and I could clearly see Alice's handy-work. It was beautiful. A perfect blend of our tastes. I watched Bella as her eyes took in the picture…seeing the reflection of everything in those sparkling eyes. When her eyes connected with mine…I leaned down slowly…trying to gauge her reaction. She closed her eyes and her chin angled up ever so slightly. My lips found hers and I couldn't help but sigh at the comfort and peace that it brought me. It was a soft kiss…not a hot passionate one. We were learning to understand each other's preferences. When I applied a slight pressure on her lower lip she nearly melted in my arms.

I carried her upstairs towards where our bedroom was supposed to be. Alice had managed to give me the directions during the reception.

Once we reached the door, Bella opened it and I placed her on her feet. Now…for the strange part. Both of us were equally inexperienced and I was suddenly nervous. What does she want? How should I react now?

"Err…Um…I guess I will let you change into something more comfortable. Alice told me that she left some clothes for you in the cupboard. I will just grab mine and change in the other room."

She nodded her head and I could tell that she was equally nervous. May be neither of us were ready for this big step.

I picked a pair of shorts and a tshirt and left the room. I freshened up in the guest room and changed. I normally slept in my boxers but I did not want her to feel uncomfortable or that I was forcing her into something she did not want to.

I was just about to head back when I heard her.

"Um…Edward…I guess I need some help."

I noticed that she still had not changed and wondered why.

"Didn't you find anything that you would be comfortable sleeping in?"

She blushed. Okay…now I was lost.

"I…uh…I need your help in getting out of this dress."

My eyes widened and I was shocked. So…did she want us to ….

"I can't reach the zipper behind…Alice and Rose helped me into the dress in the afternoon."

"Oh…of course! Turn around" _Get your head out of the gutter, Edward. Be the gentleman that Esme taught you to be._

My fingers grazed her back as I slid down the zipper and my body was automatically reacting to seeing her smooth creamy skin…She held on to the top edge of the dress in the front to prevent it from falling down.

Unintentionally, my fingers lingered on the end of the zipper…nearly over her cute butt when I had finished unzipping her dress. I fought the temptation to run my hands over the newly exposed part of her skin.

"Okay…I am done!" I nearly squeaked and left the room and closed the door behind me, before I could do something both of us could regret later.

I stood there in the hallway next to the room trying to calm my hormones that were on an over-drive. I did not want to rush to the shower and give away how my body had reacted to Bella's.

Slowly but steadily my breathing returned to normal and my _little_ problem was also disappearing.

I heard the knob turn. "You can come in now…I am sorry for having kept you waiting."

_God…was she trying to kill me…trying to get me to give in to the force of my hormones?_

As if on cue, she blushed…may be she finally realized the double meaning her words could have carried over.

I took in a few deep breaths before I entered _our_ bedroom.

She was waiting for _me…_on _our bed…_She was wearing cute flannel shorts with a matching camisole...in red...she was just so sexy. But I could clearly tell that she was exhausted and a little uncomfortable…

I walked over to her…"Bella, love, I do not want anything to happen between us until both of us are ready mentally…We should not get carried away because something is supposed to happen tonight. We can wait. I want us to get to know each other completely and fall in love before we enter this regime. I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me, love."

She nodded meekly and looked into my eyes. "Thanks, Edward. I am glad that you are on the same line of thought as I am."

She then leaned in to give me a chaste kiss on the lips. I then got under the covers with Bella. I wanted to hold her against my chest as I fell asleep. But I did not want to initiate the body contact. I wanted her to come to me.

As if she could read my thoughts, she placed her head on the crook of my neck and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Is this okay?" she asked, her voice overloaded with doubt.

"Never been better. Good night, love." I placed a kiss on her forehead and started to hum a tune that was just forming in my mind. She snuggled in further and soon her breathing was even.

The last thought on my mind as I fell asleep was how I had gotten so lucky to have this angel as my wife, sleeping beside me…

**A/N: Sorry to disappoint all those who were expecting lemons in this chapter. But common guys…he is Edward. But I will stick by my rating and you won't be disappointed in the later chapters. I was in two minds whether to write this in EPOV or BPOV and decided that EPOV would be better…hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. This was by far one of my fav chapters.**


	16. Chapter 15: Beautiful

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: I was in a dilemma as to who should be the bad guy to set the drama rolling. ****Of all the irritating characters in Twilight…between Tanya, Jessica and Lauren…I dislike Jessica the most…she betrays their friendship. So…I decided that Jessica would be the villain of my fic…what do you guys think? There will me lots of drama in the next few chapters…but it will take a while to write it properly. In fact…I am not quite satisfied with the way this chapter turned out…Let me know your comments! Dresses for this chapter are on my profile.**

**Chapter 15: Beautiful**

_**EPOV**_

The next morning I woke-up to a rich coffee aroma…and with out opening my eyes, I felt around the bed, searching for Bella. It was empty. I looked at the clock and it was just around 9 in the morning. As I was stretching my muscles, the door opened and Bella walked in with a tray of food. The smell of pancakes, waffles and coffee filled the room. And Bella…she just looked so stunning…her hair was still a little wet from her shower and she was wearing a dark blue slimming jeans with a printed top. She looked absolutely stunning. And due to the presence of the 'Y' chromosome my body automatically reacted…

Luckily she was putting the tray down on the table and did not notice my predicament. I adjusted myself and opened my arms to her. She snuggled into my chest and I breathed in her scent…Freesias and strawberry. I kissed her forehead…

"Good morning, Beautiful. Did you sleep well?"

"Hmm…the best night's sleep I have had in a long time. I feel relaxed now that the wedding is over…" She planted her lips on my chest. "I wanted to bring breakfast for you in bed…why did you wake up so early?"

"Bella…I…I feel so lucky…" I was going to tell her that I was in love with her but that might make her uncomfortable…things were going at a correct pace and we were starting to feel comfortable around each other. She smiled a breath-taking smile.

Breakfast was delicious…I didn't know Bella could cook so well since she had spent most of her life in the boarding school and Chalie had been the one to bring her up.

"Its yummy, Bella. You are spoiling me…"

She giggled and said "Just eat…I love to spoil you…Cooking is a passion of mine, so I really enjoy spending time in the kitchen"

"What do you say about going out for lunch? I need to drop a file with Carlisle. And we could go to my parent's house after that. You havn't been there in such a long time."

"Sounds good."

We finished eating and I helped her load the dishes into the washer and went to get ready for the day.

I picked a simple pair of pale blue jeans and wore a black shirt with it. I rolled the sleeves up to my elbow and tried to get my hair to settle down causing it to look even more in disarray than it had been…I gave up and went down. I normally dressed formally for work, with a suit and tie…but today I was technically on leave and no one would mind anyway.

"Bella…is everything packed for our trip? Do you need to being any stuff from your place to here?"

"Yeah…everything is packed and ready. Yours as well. We can pick that up when we go out. I still have the key to the house. Are you ready to go?"

The drive to her house was silent…but not in an uncomfortable way…

We picked up the 3 huge boxes and went to my office. I gave her a short tour of the building and introduced her to my secretary…I could see that everyone was in awe after seeing my wife. Some of the men did not even bother to be subtle while staring at her. I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed her temple…marking her as mine and showing my protective nature…

Carlisle was not around and I just left the file on his desk. When I came out of the office, Bella was on the phone arguing with someone.

"Not today…I need to recover from all the stress of the wedding…"

I raised an eyebrow, silently questioning her. She mouthed "Alice" and continued to listen on what was being said. I couldn't help but chuckle. It was hard to navigate against Alice's pressure. All of a sudden Bella blushed, perking my curiosity.

"I am not telling you, Alice." She hissed.

Oh…so Alice wants the dirt on our wedding night…poor Bella. But, I knew that Emmett would be waiting to ambush me as well. He would be giving me a tough time when he found out that I still hadn't lost my V-card.

"Okay…hold on…I'll ask Edward."

She covered the phone with her hands and turned to me. "Alice wants all of us to go to the pub tonight…just to celebrate everything…Emmett and Rose will be leaving Deonna with Esme tonight."

"Yeah…sure…I need to go to the hospital only after 3PM tomorrow for a couple of hours…So a late night today won't be a problem."

She nodded and started talking into the phone…"We are in…so where do you wanna meet?" There was a short silence followed by "Does Edward know where it is?"…

"Sure then…see you tonight at 9"

I looked at Bella…waiting for her to fill me up on the details.

"Alice told me that it's the place where you guys always hang-out…Twilight zone or something…"

Of course, they would pick that. The waitress there were a little too forward when it came to me and Jazz and Emmett found it hilarious. They would definitely want to embarrass me in front of my wife. I winced at the thought of all possible things they might do.

"Uh…ya…I know the place. But I don't prefer that as much as my brothers do…You'll see why…So, ready for lunch? We could go to the place where we were supposed to meet and didn't manage to…Date?" I grinned.

Bella blushed a beautiful shade of pink and nodded her head. Did she always blush so much or was it just me?? I pulled her into my arms and whispered in her ear…in what I thought was a seductive tone…" You look absolutely tempting right now…do you know what you do to me?"

Suddenly, all the shyness was gone and she was the other Bella…the vixen. "I think I have an idea of what I do to you…I hope you are enjoying it…"

I growled and Bella laughed. "If you continue your teasing, we might just have to skip lunch…" Ah…again that blush…

She pulled away from my embrace and walked toward the car, swaying her hips seductively…Oh God…she will be the death of me! **(A/N: sorry…couldn't resist adding this line;-)) **

Lunch was pleasant and then we went to my parent's place. Esme took Bella away…to give her a tour of the house while I sat with my dad…discussing about the arrangements for the party…which was supposed to be held in couple of days…

The rest of the day passed with Esme showing Bella pictures of my childhood after she left to UK and telling her embarrassing stories about me.

Soon, it was time to leave and Esme promised to have my piano sent to our new house along with my other stuff when we were away on our honeymoon so that the house will be completely ready for us when we came back.

Both of us were still quite full from the lunch and decided to grab something from Subway on our way home.

We ate dinner, talking about my parents and family…and life in general.

I decided to just change my shirt for the night when Bella went to get ready. I picked a simple black polo shirt and waited for Bella to come down.

I heard her heals clicking and turned to see her. My breath caught in my throat. She was wearing a beautiful green dress…the skirt reaching to just a few inches above her knee, showing of her beautiful long legs and toned skin. Her hair was curled mildly and a few bangs outlined her face. The dress hugged her body at all the right places. No wonder those guys wanted her to model for the top brands… everything about her screamed classy!

I let my eyes travel from her feet to her face and my eyes stopped their accent when they met her beautiful brown orbs. She blushed and came to stand in front of me…

The back of my fingers traced her high cheek bones…so smooth… "You look stunningly gorgeous, love" My voice had automatically taken the rough husky tone…leaving no doubt about how turned-on I was.

"Likewise…" she smiled.

I offered her my hand and we walked out of the house, locking the door behind us. I held on to her hand even when I was driving...the loss of contact with her body made me feel incomplete. I was going to have a tough time keeping my hands to myself tonight. At this rate...I might go all 'cave-man' on her tonight...


	17. Chapter 16:Possessive Love

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: Okay...here is the next chapter and ****sorry to have kept you waiting (this seems to have become a standard note on my chapters ********) and not replying to any of the reviews. I had a bunch of experiments to finish before Christmas and it has been quite demanding. So as compensation I give you this slightly longer chapter and some interesting incidences. Am I forgiven now?**

**I got a few PMs about how I should proceed with the story. I really appreciate your views and ideas but I had already decided on how this story should play out and so I am not really that enthusiastic about changing the main plot. Minor incidences will work fine though ;-)**

**Chapter 16: Possessive love**

_**BPOV**_

Edward is the living walking definition of a gentlemanly modern-day Adonis. And how can I not fall in love with him. It sounds cheesy to even think about how much I love him, having actually met him only at the alter. When he is everything I had ever wished for in my partner…why hesitate and not plunge in head-on?

Alice had made plans for all of us to meet at the pub and spend some time together before we left on our honeymoon. The guys were relatively free since they had almost finished everything for the product announcement, and they needed some relaxation as well. And talking about relaxations…how else could I help Edward relax? I could give him a nice massage and prepare a warm bath for him and…then my mind went to the gutter and all my earlier ideas took on a different meaning. But we had decided to wait till we were in love to attempt the physical act…

We reached the pub and I found Alice and Jazz waiting near the bouncer, away from the long queue of teenage crowd. As soon as she spotted us, Alice started bouncing and it took every ounce of restrain from Jasper to stop her from running to us.

When we reached them, Alice grabbed on to me and gave a fierce hug and a meaning full look before she let Jazz hug me while Edward hugged Alice and lifted her off feet as she tried to hit him on the back of his head. I knew that Alice was the sister that Edward always wanted…I had figured as much from all our phone conversation and lets face it…its hard to not like that Tink!

Rose and Emmett joined us soon…telling about how Deonna had refused to let go Emmett's hands. It had taken a lot of distraction from the grandparents to pry her off her dad.

When we got near the entrance, Edward put his hand around my waist, protectively and possessively. I liked it…He didn't let go till we found a table and the guys had to go and get us drinks. Here come the moment when Alice will start what she is normally really good at…Interrogation…

5…4…3…2…

"So…Bel-llaaaa"…

"Yes, Alice?"

"Bella…" she whined "I will die of anticipation…Please…" and then she unleashed her infamous puppy dog pout and Rose soon joined her in trying to get me to cave in…

It was my turn to do something and I did the one thing that I have been doing quite frequently since yesterday…I blushed!

"Oh…spill it, girl!" Surprisingly these words came from Rose and not Alice. I was a little surprised to say the least!

"And no editing on any of the details…I am sure he lived up to the image his brothers have built…"

"Alice…Jazz and Em are like my brothers and there are some details of their life that I am better off not knowing."

She just shrugged and the two pairs of very eager eyes were studying me with intense expression!

"We…uh…er…decided to wait" I managed to squeak out… An act that was very unlike the person I have always been. Some how being with Edward brought out this really unknown shy side of me.

Once they realized what had been said Alice looked surprised and disappointed while Rose looked the opposite.

"Of course…always the over-thinking gentleman. Let me guess…he wanted to fall in love before you guys had sex…right?"

I just opened my mouth and closed it…unable to reply. She had hit the nail on the head.

"Just as I expected…" Rose said. "But I don't know whether he realizes that he is already in love with you…but Bella…you must feel really special. Not every guy cares more about feelings than his physical satisfaction. And I know you will make him happy, Bella"

"Rose…I…um…how do you know that he…he l-loves me?"

"Trust me, Bella. I have known him from the time I started dating Emmett. Emmett has his own ways of showing he cares but when I am upset, its Edward who knows first…even without me saying anything. He is my little brother."

I was uncertain about how I should reply, when I was saved by the arrival of our men. I had asked Edward to choose any drink for me. We had started this game at the restaurant. Trying to place the order for the other person as our way of showing what we have understood or judged about each other…I was in fact eager to know what Edward had got for me.

When he place my drink on the table, in front of me…I was flabbergasted…

"How?" Edward had brought 'Screaming Orgasm' for me, and it just happens to be my all time favorite.

"Oh…I thought you would like it and I wanted to give you one…" he whispered in my ears and smirked…and I blushed.

This was a new Edward that I was seeing…the more forthcoming flirty sexy one…I heard Jazz and Em snicker and knew this change in attitude has something to do with the senior Cullen brothers…

When I felt the heat recede from my face I looked up and found the other two couples trying to look busy and not look at us. So, I stretched a little so that my lips were right next to his earlobe and said " I love it…I was hoping you would bring me one…"

Ha…there…I got Edward to get all flustered. Two can play at this game.

All of us were having an amazing time, with Em narrating all the childhood stories of all their misadventures. Soon, the girls wanted to dance and dragged me along. The men wanted to finish another round of stinking beer before they joined us.

Soon a tango number came up and I was just going to go back to sit with the guys when I felt a pair of two strong arms envelope me at my waist from behind…I didn't scream or jump out of my skin. I was just pleasantly surprised…I didn't know if Edward could dance, but I wouldn't be surprised if he could. But tango?

I had taken tango classes for fun, for 1 semester at my university but I dropped out since most guys came there to just have an opportunity to grope the girls.

Edward bent down, so that his eyes were in level with mine and said… "Dance with me, love?"

How could I ever refuse him anything? And so we danced…

Edward was an amazing dancer and knew the moves…I wouldn't be surprised if he had been trained professionally in tango…

We danced for a few more songs after that…including salsa and a slow number. I felt really thirsty and wanted something to drink.

"Edward…I am just going to get something to drink. I'll be right back."

"I could get you one." He offered.

"No, I'll be fine. And, I think watching you dance is a major turn-on Dr. Cullen." I pecked him on his lips and left before he could get out of his dazed state.

I had some soda and I was about to head back when someone grabbed my ass from behind. This time I was scared. It was not the pair of hands that my body earned for. I turned to find a huge guy who was definitely in an inebriated state. I tried to move around him and get away but he grabbed me roughly by my waist and started dragging me towards the back door.

I was about to scream my lungs off when a cold, yet familiar voice, spoke from behind this drunk bastard.

"Take your hands off her."

The drunk kept an arm around me while he turned to look at whoever had spoken to him in such a way. I didn't have to turn to know who it was but I knew that my heart and body would relax only when I saw my favorite pair of emerald green orbs.

When the drunk guy just continued to hold me and lifted his eyebrows as if daring Edward to do something, he did what I had been hoping he would do but was afraid he wouldn't do. Edward punched him square on his jaw and was about to take a second swing when the stranger suddenly dropped down unconscious. Edward bent down and checked his pulse to be sure he was just knocked out cold. The doctor in him taking over.

When Edward got up again, he had a strange emotion in his eyes. He grabbed me roughly and pulled me into his chest, hugging me tightly, like there was no tomorrow.

When he released me again, I thought he would take me back to where the others were dancing but instead he headed towards the back exit, before I could say anything.

Once we were outside, he took my face in his hands ever so gently and bent down to look into my eyes, as if searching my soul for some answer.

"Bella…" his voice was rough, strained. He paused and cleared his throat before he continued. "Bella, love, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Do you want to go back home? Love, are you okay?"

I put my index finger to his lips to silence him. He seemed to be having a panic attack. So much for being a doctor!

"Yes, Edward. I am fine. You found me at the right time and I am so so glad that you came when you did…if not…" I shuddered at the thought.

Before I could find my voice once again, Edward crashed his lips to mine with so much passion and emotion that all I could do was just kiss him back. He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him and lifted me off the ground. I wrapped my feet around his torso and my hands found their way to his silky bronze locks.

The atmosphere around us was crackling with electricity and it did nothing to help our restraint when his warm tongue traced my lower lip. I sighed into the kiss and he took this chance to enter into my mouth and his tongue started a war for dominance with mine, which I gladly let him win. That was when I became aware of something hard and pointed rubbing my inner thigh, near my core. When I tried to shift a little because of my curiosity, Edward moaned and growled into the kiss…

_Oh…_

We broke off, panting, for the much needed breathe, when Edward tucked my head under his chin…"_My_ Bella…_only mine_" he whispered, so softly that I was not sure if I was meant to hear that.

We stayed that way for a while, holding each other…happy to be safe with the other…

He sighed suddenly… "We should go back inside…the others will be looking for us. Are you okay now, love?"

"With you, I always am…" I gave him a chaste kiss on his lips and then he put me down and held me till he was certain that I was balanced on my two feet.

"Do you want to tell them what happened?"

"No…lets just say that I wanted some fresh air…"

He nodded.

He held me to his side as we walked back to the pub and made our way to our friends.

Em was the first to notice us… "Took you long enough to find her, Eddie…"

"Edward... Not Eddie, Em. She felt like catching some fresh air and I didn't want her to go alone."

Em wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at Edward's answer and both Edward and I just rolled our eyes at Emmett's antics.

We continued dancing and Edward never let me out of his grip for the rest of the time…and I was definitely not complaining…I was rather enjoying, seeing this possessive and protective side of him. All of us were tired and Em and Jazz wanted to have another round of drinks. Alice and Rose decided to be their appointed drivers for the night.

Soon after, Em and Rose started getting a little too open about their physical relationship and Alice and Jazz were not far behind. Edward squeezed my knee on which his hand had been resting from when we had got back to the table. He met my eyes and we communicated silently. He gazed into my eyes for a long time before he nodded.

He got up, pulling me with him. "We're off…see you tomorrow at the meeting guys."

The four off them got up as well and we headed out together to where we had parked our cars.

Edward patted his brothers on the back, getting them to sober up a little and hugged Rose and Alice and kissed them on the cheek.

I hugged the four of them and then we were on our way back home. Edward held my hand in his through out the drive, kissing the back on my palm every now and then. The roads were nearly empty, considering it was in the wee hours of the morning, giving him ample opportunity to steal glimpses in my direction.

I knew then that something had changed between us tonight…and I was _definitely _excited about it. I had seen some very interesting sides to Edward's character today and I was looking forward to seeing more of _him..._

**A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it too. So now be nice and leave me reviews ;-) Delicious lemons are not far away in this story now...just a little patience!  
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	18. Chapter 17:Protective Love

**Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No infringement of copyrights meant. Only the plot is mine©. **

**A/N: I felt a little guilty for finishing off the last ****chapter, leaving you guys with a cliff-hanger (I know I always do that, but hey, its festive season;-)). So I managed to write this filler chapter, in EPOV. Starts off overlapping with Chapter 15's end. Enjoy! This is the longest chapter that I have ever written.**

**Chapter 17: Protecting Love!**

_**EPOV**_

Bella…Bella…Bella…_my _Bella. That has what has been on my mind, and heart from the moment she started walking down the aisle, with me waiting at the altar. She is the embodiment of everything beautiful, true to her name, caring, loving, peaceful and erotic. Yeah…an amazing package. This woman had changed me in ways that I never thought was possible and that too in just a day. God…I loved her.

From the way she acted around me, I could tell that she was attracted to me and trusted me but I was waiting for more…I was waiting for her to feel the same way I did…_head over heals in love!_ Yup…I am a total goner but I am glad that I am!

I checked and rechecked myself in the mirror and even tried to tame my unruly locks…I wanted to look good enough for her…worthy of this angel. Satisfied that I had done the best I could do to get ready I decided to wait for her in the living room. My head turned of its own accord when I heard the rhythmic 'tic-tac' of her heals on the stairs. My breath caught in my throat when I drank in her appearance. She was stunning and I was dazzled. She was dressed in a beautiful green dress, that matched my eye color, making me wonder if she had picked that dress for the same reason. _You are over-analyzing it, Edward…Don't scare her off, I chastised myself. I had promised her that I was ready to wait to make love to her…the act being that of showing our love rather than the primitive act of finding release._

I kept stealing glances in her direction and I had to constantly remind myself to be careful since I was the one behind the wheel. Maybe I should ask her to drive on our way back…that will give me ample opportunity to gaze at her heavenly beauty.

We reached the pub and saw Ali waiting next to the bouncer, with Jasper's arms around her petite frame. And from the looks of it, he was trying to contain her excitement. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. Ali and I were really close, more like brother sister than friends. I had been a little upset that my parents decided not to have kids after I was born. I missed having a younger sibling, a younger sister, to look after and protect. Not that Alice needed that, but she was the closest I had to one. Rose was more like the protective elder sister. I always went to her for advice and we liked just discussing about life, in general.

When we reached them, I waited till the best friends finished their greeting before I picked up Alice to give her a proper hug. She always felt that this was my way of teasing her for being so small and I was awarded with a smack on the back of my head…not that it didn't hurt!

Rose and Emmett were a little late and I had expected as much, since I knew how difficult it was for them to distract Deonna. Normally, I took care for baby-sitting my niece and could distract her quite easily. It must have been quite difficult today, considering her favorite 'uncle Eeewa' was not there to baby-sit her. When Emmett finished explaining about how she had finally let go, I couldn't help but snicker. For the big bear of a guy, he was wrapped around her little finger.

The pub was quite crowded for a weekday night and I saw a lot of the guys gawking at Bella, _my wife. _I couldn't prevent the low growl that built up in my chest and glare at those hormone filled adolescent men. I wrapped my hand around her shapely waist and pulled her to me, marking her as mine…marking my territory. We found a table and asked the girls to sit while we went to grab the drinks. I was hoping to please Bella with my choice of drink for her and smiled to myself when I thought about how she would react. This did not go unnoticed by my brothers.

Emmett's booming laugh brought me out of my little fantasy and he looked at me expectantly. I could feel the blood rushing to my face and could do nothing to prevent that. The damage was done…their snickers confirmed that they had not missed this either. It was a little difficult at times, living with my two brothers. They always managed to find some way to tease me about my V-card and the fact that I could actually blush.

I knew what was coming next. I always knew what Emmett was about to say.

"So…did little Eddie become a man yesterday?" He didn't even bother keeping his voice low, causing some men nearby to turn in my direction.

"Emmett…" I hissed. "Some privacy and discretion please…"

"So, is that a yes or a no?" Jasper asked.

"I know that I am in love with her, but I want her to feel the same and be comfortable with me before we venture into that territory. I am happy with the pace we are proceeding in…"

Jasper patted me on my back while Emmett just gawked.

"You did the right thing man…but may be she does feel that way but is a little hesitant and lets face it…its difficult to get a read on you. Try getting closer to her…see how she reacts and pick up from there…" came Jasper's brilliant advice…always the cool strategist.

I merely nodded. Emmett on the other hand looked at us like both Jasper and I had gone crazy.

"C'mon guys, be a man… pick her up and throw her on your bed and if she doesn't scream her lungs off…you have your sign…"

I just rolled my eyes. Leave it to Emmett to be subtle about emotions!

The drinks were ready and Jasper saw what I had got for Bella and lifted his eyebrows questioningly. I just shrugged…Emmett laughed and soon we reached the table and the girls broke apart from what seemed to be a very serious discussion. Knowing Alice, she would have wanted Bella to give her all the dirt about our not-so-eventful wedding night and Bella looked relieved to have some interruption.

I placed her drink in front of her…_would it sound too girly if I said I had butterflies in my stomach... _and waited for her reaction. Her eyes widened the slightest and I could detect a faint smile trying to break across her face. _Score Edward! _I cheered myself.

"How?" she managed to splutter.

Trying to sound as seductive as I could I said "Oh…I thought you would like it and I wanted to give you one…" and she blushed…Oh! So I was on the mark. I couldn't help but smirk. Jasper was right.

Slowly, just as I was about to take a sip from my drink, I felt rather than heard her whisper in my ears, "I love it…I was hoping you would bring me one…"

Okay…now she had done the damage. _Scores are tied!_ I tried to squirm and adjust my _little _ problem before anyone noticed. It was getting painful…rubbing against the zipper. The meager protection that my boxers offered were of no use.

Just when I was wondering if I should excuse myself to take care of my problem before I combusted right here, Emmett started a conversation about our childhood…meaning, telling everyone embarrassing stories about me. That was sufficient to relax _me _and soon, I couldn't help but join in the laughter. My heart beat sped up every time Bella accidentally brushed my hands, thigh…Some random chick song started playing and Alice decided to drag the girls to dance. I was reluctant to let Bella leave my side. After all, there were a lot of indecent drunk men on the dance floor. After finishing another beer, I was just in time to join Bella for a tango song. I had watched a number of tango contests on TV and learnt most steps by myself. I sneaked up behind her and put my arms on her waist, bent down and whispered in her ears in my husky voice. "Dance with me, Love?"

I was surprised that she did not tense or turn around when I put my arms from behind her…she seemed to realize almost at once that it was me. I was surprised to see that she could keep up and I made a mental note to ask her later.

My eyes never left her as we danced for a few more songs until she told me that she wanted to get a drink. I could see the bar counter from her but still offered to get her the drink. My _little _problem resurfaced when I heard her reply. "No, I'll be fine. And, I think watching you dance is a major turn-on Dr. Cullen." I was too stunned to react and she pecked me on my lips and left before I could react.

I continued to dance forming a small circle with my family and when I realized that Bella had been gone for much longer, I turned to look at the bar. I couldn't spot her and the bar was nearly empty.

"Do you know if Bella went to the wash room from the bar? Did any of you notice her?"

Alice was the first to reply. "Nay…she would never to the washroom unaccompanied in any pub…we made that pact long back, when we were in high school."

My muscles started to tense and I shot between people, searching for any sign of Bella. I saw some huge guy, quite definitely drunk, trying to drag someone through the back exit and I got a glimpse of mahogany hair. _Bella…my Bella…_

I was seething and got to him within the blink of an eye. He was still unaware that there was someone standing right behind him and I could hear Bella whimpering in his hold.

"Take your hands off her."

The drunk turned around and gave me a once-over, probably deciding that I was not strong enough to fight him and continued to hold _my wife. _Being Emmett's brother had its advantages. Both Jasper and I had taken special kick-boxing training and arm wrestling. I aimed my shot and punched him square on his jaw. I did not even feel any pain on my knuckles and so I was about to take a second swing when the stranger suddenly dropped down unconscious. Even though the caveman in me was rejoicing, I couldn't help but let the doctor instincts kick in. I checked his pulse and was sure that he was just out cold, from the punch and all the alcohol.

I was a little worried that I had scared Bella. She had never seen me violent and I was hoping that she would never have to see this side of me. So I looked into her beautiful eyes, that still looked a little frightened from all that had happened in the short amount of time. I felt guilty for letting her out of my sight and for scaring her. _Would she hurt me now? _I got up a little slowly, trying not to scare her even more, but when I looked into her eyes again she looked so vulnerable. I couldn't prevent myself from pulling her to me, crushing her to my chest. She wrapped her small arms around my torso and the relief spread through me. But I still had to make sure that she was not in shock. I might have to get her some coke or high calorie drink to provide her body with enough sugar.

I dragged her outside through the back exit. I was still not ready to face the others and had to cool off before we went in again. I wanted to check on Bella myself.

I cupped her face in my hand, such that two of my fingers rested right below her ears, at the pulse point. I wanted to make sure she was fine with out her knowing. She might not like that. I started counting, and simultaneously questioned her, looking directly into her eyes, trying to lift the truth directly from her mind.

"Bella…"I started but realized that my voice was still strained. So I cleared my throat before continuing. "Bella, love, are you okay? Did he hurt you? Do you want to go back home? Love, are you okay?"

She stopped me mid-way through my questions, probably sensing my anxiety, by putting her index finger on my lips.

"Yes, Edward. I am fine. You found me at the right time and I am so so glad that you came when you did…if not…" she shuddered. In the meantime, I had finished counting her pulse. Normal…no glitch in the steady rhythm. She was being too cool about this whole incident, but I needed to calm myself and did the only thing that I knew would distract me and calm me down, at the same time giving me the final confirmation that she was fine.

She seemed to be too caught up in her thoughts and I let go all my self-control and crashed my lips to hers with force, trying to convey all the passion, love and concern that I felt. After a moment, she kissed me back. My self-control had definitely been thrown to the wind as I pulled her hips to mine and lifted her off the ground. As if we had been practicing this all our lives, she spontaneously wrapped her feet around my waist and her fingers got tangled in my messy hair.

I could almost taste the sex oozing from her and she sighed, giving in to her feelings, I guess. I took this chance to let my tongue enter her mouth and started stroking hers, which soon started a war for dominance. After sometime, I don't know how long, she let mine win. This was a major boost to my male ego and I was having a raging hard-on. I knew that I was being ungentlemanly, letting my hard-on rub against her. Suddenly, she shifted a little, probably sensing the wood pocking her. The sensation that coursed through my body was something I had never felt before. In the lust-filled haze, a moan escaped my lips and before I could stop myself, a low growl built up in my chest. But I was far gone to care.

Reluctantly, I ended the kiss for much needed air and since I was also sure that if I let this proceed even for a second longer, I could not be held responsible for my actions. I would have ravished her in this narrow corridor at a pub. She deserved something better…something perfect. However, I was still not ready to break our contact and tucked her head in the crook of my neck, breathing in her scent…strawberries and freesia. "_My_ Bella…_mine_" I said to myself, hoping she hadn't heard my words.

We stayed that way for a while, holding each other…content and complete.

I remember that Alice would probably eating Jasper by now, in her anxiety over Bella. "We should go back inside…the others will be looking for us. Are you okay now, love?"

Her reply caught me off guard. "With you, I always am…" She gave me a chaste kiss and I set her on her feet, holding her till she balanced herself. I took her hand in mine, not ready to let her out of my grip.

"Do you want to tell them what happened?" I asked her. I knew they would question where we had disappeared to.

"No…lets just say that I wanted some fresh air…"

I merely nodded.

I held her close to my body as we walked back to the pub and made our way to our group.

Emmett was the first to notice us, being much taller than the others. "Took you long enough to find her, Eddie…"

I growled at him, not ready to put up with his 'lets irritate the little brother' game.

"Edward... Not Eddie, Em. She felt like catching some fresh air and I didn't want her to go alone."

Once the words were out of my mouth, I realized how this could be misinterpreted by the angel that was my brother. He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively all I could do was roll my eyes at my brother's immaturity.

We continued dancing and it gave me ample excuse to hold her tight. After the incident, though I would have not minded having a drink, I refrained from it, knowing that I needed to be sober since my brothers decided to have another round of drinks before we left. Had one of them stayed sober, I wouldn't have bothered.

I decided to implement Jasper's suggestion further and placed my hand on Bella's thigh tentatively. She shivered at the contact but then relaxed against me. The excess booze was taking its effect on my brothers and neither of their spouses was why about PDA. I looked at Bella, and she looked as uncomfortable as I felt. We communicated silently and decided to bid farewell to my siblings.

"We're off…see you tomorrow at the meeting guys." I said, subtly reminding them about the board meeting tomorrow afternoon.

All of us got out of the pub and I bid them good bye. I opened the door for Bella to get in and closed it when she was comfortably seated, before I went to take my seat behind the wheel.

I was thankful that there was not much traffic on the roads, since I could hold Bella's hand in mine and place soft kisses on her knuckles every now and then. I was walking a thin line here between what level of intimacy she would be comfortable with and what I desired. But I couldn't help but hope that things were moving in the correct pace and we will be as one, mind, body and soul.

**A/N: Review time! ;-)**


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